


The Life I Want (With You)

by starbuckx, TheAlternativeSource



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kid Fic, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 68,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbuckx/pseuds/starbuckx, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlternativeSource/pseuds/TheAlternativeSource
Summary: AU post-season 1. The Time Team goes back to save Amy, but when they come back to the present they realize that they not only saved her, they somehow made it so Wyatt and Lucy are married. And there's a kid?





	1. Unexpected Surprises (Wyatt's POV)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome Clockblockers! To help you survive the angst of season 2 of Timeless we've got fluff, kid fic goodness, and did we mention fluff? So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Later he’d consider it a sign from the universe, God, or even the force, that his nausea had taken as long to subside as it had.

Of course, at first, it was easy to blame his queasy stomach on the level of excitement that greeted them back at Mason Industries, and on Lucy’s ecstatic face as Agent Christopher confirmed, right after they descended from the Lifeboat, that yes, Amy was fine and probably waiting for Lucy’s call at his point.

Now that was a statement he should have probably paid more attention to.

It had been a whirlwind after that, though, not just because Lucy was hugging him and Rufus in random intervals, happiness making her giddy in a way Wyatt should probably not feel conflicted about, but because they had to be debriefed and there were what seemed like fifty million things to straighten out before they could get out of Mason Industries and move on with their lives.

Not that he minded. What did he have to go back to, after all? He had no family like Rufus or Lucy, no one waiting for him anywhere, just the prospect of another mission, and though before he would have welcomed the idea, right now the thought of the consequences gave him more pause than it had ever given him.

Suddenly, staring at Lucy’s profile and taking in Rufus’s delighted laugh as they fused in another embrace, he felt like he had a lot to live for.

He really, really didn’t want to say goodbye.

“Earth to Wyatt, earth to Wyatt,” Lucy was waving a hand in front of his face as Agent Christopher rolled her eyes for approximately the fiftieth time in their short conversation. “Are you coming?”

“Yes, of course,” he replied, before he realized he had no clue what he’d just agreed to. “Where are we going?”

But Lucy was past caring. “Out, tonight! With Amy, you know, _my sister_!”

His smile at that was genuine. He might not have gotten what he wanted, but he didn’t begrudge Lucy her happiness. In fact, he felt a little lighter at seeing her like this, as if her lightness was somehow contagious. “You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted.”

“Knock it off, lovebirds,” Agent Christopher chastised and Wyatt turned to Rufus and Lucy to see that they were both wearing identical expressions of confusion. “Let’s get this over with so you can all get back to your families.”

Rufus whooped and Lucy laughed, but to Wyatt, the words cut deep.

This was, after all, his family. The only one he had. There was nothing to get back to. Once he walked out of Mason Industries, he was all alone, and though yes, it was possible Lucy and Rufus would stay in touch, they would not be in his life regularly – not like they’ve been the past few months.

For them, today was the day they got back their life. For Wyatt, it was the day he lost his.

But he stayed quiet, nodded through the nausea and signed whatever documents he had to sign, because that’s what Rufus and Lucy needed from him, and he even managed a small smile as they entered the locker room to change back into normal clothes.

In fact, he didn’t say one word from that comment to Lucy till the moment he opened his locker and found, on top of a pile of clothes he’d couldn’t remember buying, much less wearing, a fluffy keychain that he knew didn’t belong to him, holding a set of keys he had never seen before.

“What in the world?” he wondered, just as Lucy rummaged around her own locker and came out holding a dress he’d never seen on her and absolutely nothing else.

“Okay, what’s the deal here? Is this someone’s idea of a practical joke?” she gesticulated, the dress still in her hand, like just its presence on her locker was a personal affront. “This is not mine. I know for sure this is not mine, because I have never bought anything resembling this dress in my entire life.”

“Looks cute,” Rufus remarked from the corner, where he was holding his regular hoodie and stuff that actually looked like it belonged to him.

“Wait, why is your stuff all normal and ours isn’t?” Wyatt asked.

“Your stuff isn’t normal either?” There was an edge of relief to her voice as she came come enough to peer into Wyatt’s locker, and then, there was just silence. “Eh, I don’t see the problem here,” she said after a pause.

“These are not my clothes, for one. And that is definitely not my keychain, he said holding a pink, fluffy thing that he could not identify as anything. “So, Rufus, if this is your idea of a joke, it’s a bad one. Can you just give us back our stuff?”

Rufus raised both hands to the sky. “I’m innocent here. I was with you on the Lifeboat. When would I have time to play jokes? Besides, it’s just clothes, how can you be sure they’re not really yours? Maybe your sense of style changed in this timeline.”

“You’re funny, Rufus,” Wyatt declared, and he pulled the clothes out the locker with way more force than necessary, which of course, was when his life changed forever.

Though, to be fair, his life had already changed, he just didn’t know it.

Lucy heard the clink before he did, she looked down before he did, but he reached for the chain before she even had time to react, his eyes desperate for something that his brain was telling him was impossible.

“Is that …is that your wedding ring?” Lucy asked, as he stared at the unfamiliar matching bands, platinum instead of the gold he and Jessica had gotten, and the engagement ring that was, without a doubt, his grandmother’s.

“No,” he said, with absolute certainty, because it wasn’t the band he and Jessica had shared, not the one he’d gotten used to seeing on his hand, a thought that was almost enough to make him heave. And yet, that was his grandmother’s engagement ring, and this was on his locker, alongside that pink thing …so that meant that …Wyatt couldn’t really make out what that meant, but it probably meant something?

“Well, it looks like a wedding ring to me,” confirmed Rufus, who’d come to stand by his shoulder. “And that looks like an engagement ring. And those are car keys, fluffy pink car keys, Wyatt. You did not have fluffy pink car keys before. You might have had those suburban dad clothes, but you did not have those car keys. So what else changed? And how did we change your car by getting Amy back?”

“And my clothes!”

“Maybe Amy picked them for you?” Wyatt suggested, though he was still staring at the ring.

“You seem very interested in a ring that’s not yours. Are you sure Jessica is not, you know …alive? Not that I have any idea how Amy could …yeah, but you know?”

“This is not the wedding ring I wore before. I would remember that,” Wyatt interrupted, because he wasn’t really in the mood to go down a spiral that was sure to end badly for him, again.

“Okay, why don’t we all go change – yes, change into the clothes that are absolutely not yours, and then we’ll go ask Agent Christopher? She’s gotta know.”

“I’m not wearing this dress! The cut of it would be absolutely awful on me” Lucy complained, but she was already walking towards the bathroom.

Wyatt, however, hadn’t moved. He was still staring at the ring, staring hard, trying to make sense of it. Because the thing that made him so sure this set of rings did not, could never belong to Jessica, is that he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jessica had never worn his grandmother’s ring.

Instead, he’d decided they deserved something fresh, something that was only theirs, and had thrown the ring into a box and hidden it away.

Except here it was, hanging off this chain, accompanied by two matching wedding bands, one slightly larger than the other. And, of course, one of those had to belong to him. Nothing else made sense. By going back to the past to save Lucy’s sister, he had somehow come back to a present where he was married to …someone other than Jess, someone he’d given his grandmother’s wedding ring to.

Wyatt wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry, so instead he put the rings in his pocket, grabbed the keys and went to try on the suburban dad clothes, as Rufus had called them.

Oh, God, he probably had a boring car and maybe even a boring wife.

The scenarios floated in his head as he put on clothes that, he could objectively notice, were nicer than anything he’d ever bought. What if she was just like Jessica? What if she was the complete opposite? What if, like Lucy with Noah, he could never really see himself with this new person? What if he was forced to divorce someone he never even remembered marrying?

Every possibility rushed from his head as he stepped out of the bathroom and took one look at the woman standing outside. It was Lucy, but it also wasn’t? She was wearing a dress, not the kind of dress she’d worn in missions to the past, but a flowery summer dress, red, with a deep v neck and some strappy things that made his breath catch in his throat.

“I look like someone else,” she complained as he came face to face with her, but he had no words to respond, his brain had short circuited a while back. It needed a while to reboot. “And so do you,” she wrinkled her nose adorably as another figure stepped next to them. “You, however, look exactly the same,” she said to Rufus.

“Probably because nothing has changed for me. I checked, And, oh, Wyatt …man …I also checked, about Jessica …yeah …”

“We’re not married, I know.” He didn’t really want to get into this, not again.

“Yeah, but that’s the thing. You never were, I don’t think. The stories about her, her disappearance, her death? They’re all gone. I can’t find her. I don’t know if she’s alive, but I’m pretty sure that you just …never married her.”

“But …who did I marry then?” And why? How could his life had changed so much?

“What do I look like, a psychic? I just know how to Google.”

“Let’s just go ask Agent Christopher, okay? We’re gaining nothing by standing here speculating and the longer we stay here the more time it takes me to get to my sister.” The mention of Amy was enough to put a smile back in Lucy’s face, despite the confusion.

“Yes, boss.” Wyatt found himself saying, and that should have been another clue, but it wasn’t, the clues were just not fitting together. Not yet.

Agent Christopher, however, would not take too long to rock their worlds. In fact, she wouldn’t even need to be asked. All she’d need was to take one look at them, before uttering the words that would change everything. “You guys heading home or are you picking Hannah up?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Lucy asked, because the questioned had seemed directed at her, but the words were not connecting with an actual idea.

“Yeah, yeah, Amy’s already babysitting, so you guys might as well take advantage of the night off. Gotcha. Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same,” which was when she gestured to Rufus and headed for the exit. “Jiya’s been released from the hospital. She said she’d be waiting for you at her place. Let’s leave the lovebirds to their date.”

Wyatt Logan was slow, but he was proud to say he wasn’t that slow.

Neither was Rufus.

“Oh, ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh.” He gestured at them, and his eyes went wide. “YOU.GUYS. ARE. MARRIED?”

“No! Wait, are we? What?” Lucy seemed to be having trouble catching up the conversation. “Why are we thinking that? And why did she say that Amy was babystting? Babysitting who?”

“YOUR PHONE! I’m such an idiot, why didn’t I think of this before. Lucy, where’s your phone?” Rufus reached for the bag she was holding, and then, finding nothing, turned to Wyatt with wide eyes. “It’s 2018. Who doesn’t have their phone with them?”

“I didn’t even …” Lucy was having a hard time finding words. Or standing still. “I didn’t want to call Amy. Not now, not after so long. I wanted to see her first. So I just …didn’t …Where i _s_ my phone?”

“Doesn’t matter. Wyatt, your phone. Give it to me. NOW.”

But Wyatt’s phone was also nowhere to be found, and Rufus finally paused and pulled out his. “I did a quick Google search before, looking for Jessica. Looking for my family. But I never thought to look …” He clicked on the gallery, and there was Jiya, Jiya, Jiya and then …almost as if he’d willed her into existence, a little kid in Jiya’s arms who definitely looked like a carbon copy of Lucy, only with Wyatt’s eyes.

“There. _This_ is who Amy is babysitting. Hannah. Who I assume is your daughter.”

Wyatt never thought he’d react to the news that he had a kid with anger, but then again, he also never thought time travel was possible.

“Knock it off, Rufus. Lucy and I are not married and we do not have a kid.” He was using command voice, almost as if he could command this into being. “This is ridiculous. That could be anyone’s kid there with Jiya.”

“But it really, really couldn’t. Nothing else makes sense. You two are wearing different clothes. You have one set of keys, which probably lead to like a minivan or something. I bet there’s like an old brick house with a white fence. Oh God, what if my life changed too? What if I’m married to Jiya? What if I’m this kid’s Godfather? What does a Godfather even do?”

The thing about possibly being married to Lucy and having a kid wasn’t that Wyatt hated it as much as it was that he’d suddenly realized he wanted nothing more in life than to be this man, and he wasn’t sure he could ever be.

“Okay, let’s use common sense here. Our trip to save Amy couldn’t have caused me to end up married to Lucy. So why don’t we get you in front of a computer, Rufus, so you can check our files, and then we’ll get this sorted out?”

“Yeah, a computer. Yes. And your ID’s. Do you have that with you?”

But their IDs were exactly the same, except for the address. The matching address.

“I’m not gonna say I told you so …” Rufus said, as he walked past them to the nearest computer and started typing. “But I definitely told you so,” he finished as he gestured at the information on the screen.

Wyatt and Lucy Logan. Married 2015. One child, Hannah.

Let it never be said that destiny didn’t have a sense of humor, Wyatt thought as he allowed himself to stare at that name and understand the implications.

“Convinced now?”

“But how is this possible? We just went to get Amy back! How did that affect us? And I just …how is it possible that I had a child and I don’t …remember her.” Lucy’s voice was small and pained.

But Wyatt was somewhere else, somewhere where the ring and the name and the implications of it were enough to rob him of his breath. Because one thing might have been a coincidence, but all of it combined could only add up to one thing.

This was real. And, not just that, the other Wyatt, whoever that man had been, had been happy about it.

“Hannah is …was, Hannah was my mother’s name,” he muttered, more to himself than to his companions.

Thankfully, Rufus was a smart man and that was all he needed to grab the fluffy keys from his hands and push them out towards the parking lot, where, of course, a minivan chirped as Rufus directed the keys one way and then the other.

“Look, I gotta go check on Jiya. You two need to go home. If Amy and ….Hannah are together, then that’s probably for the best, no? Kill two birds with one stone and all of that. Either way, that’s a fancy car that surely has a GPS and you two can just input the address you already eh, have and go ho-I mean, your place. Yes. Boy, this is weird.”

“You’re not helping, Rufus,” Lucy said, though what she probably wanted to say was: nothing is.

“Okay, yeah. Helping. That’s my job now. Okay, yes, go deal with …family. Don’t …I mean, you probably shouldn’t just, you know, tell people that you don’t remember them? Especially a young, impressionable kid. That’s the kind of thing that scars you for life. I think. Either way, I’ll be back later …with Jiya, if possible.” He nodded at the car, and then reached for Lucy’s hand with one of his, while his other hand went to rest on Wyatt’s shoulders. “We’ll figure this out.”

This was, of course, easy for Rufus to say, Wyatt thought, but the look on Lucy’s face was all apprehension, and since he was a man of action, he felt it was best to just head for the car and wait for her to catch up.

He would have never picked this car as his. For one, it was boring black, and though it had leather interiors, it also had a pair of very female sneakers on the passenger side, a tube of lipstick on the door and approximately twenty million stuffed animals in the backseat.

But maybe this was his life now. Maybe this had been his life for the past few years.

The thought was enough to push him into the driver’s seat that, at least, was set perfectly to his specifications, which meant he probably drove here. In their minivan. That he and Lucy owned. Together.

She’d taken the passenger seat before he even noticed she was there, and for a moment that probably stretched for a good five minutes, neither of them said anything. He fiddled with the GPS and found the word in all caps, taunting him.

HOME.

“Proceed to highlighted route,” the GPS asked, and since Lucy wasn’t saying anything and there was really no reason to put this off any longer, he decided to start driving.

But silence wasn’t a thing Wyatt did well – or at least, silence and Lucy were not a combination he could usually sustain for long periods of time. There was just something so exhilarating about Lucy’s thoughts, and he always wanted to hear her opinions, her facts. So much that, sometimes, to pull them out of her, he would say the first thing that came to mind.

“Rufus was right.”

“What?” She was at least looking at him now, instead of at her hands, which were visibly trembling.

“Rufus was right.” he repeated.  “This is weird.”

“How could it not be weird?” she asked, facts first, as always. “We’re married. With a kid.” She leaned back onto the headrest and took a deep breath, before turning fully to him and piercing him with those brown eyes. “I just…what are we going to do?”

Wyatt didn’t think he had an answer, but an answer escaped his mouth nonetheless. “We're going to do what we always do, figure this out together. Okay?”

Lucy exhaled loudly, but her hands stopped trembling. “Okay, yeah.” Another deep breath. “It'll take time, and we probably have to keep it to ourselves that we don't remember …” she waved her head around to signal, well, everything.

“Except for Rufus and Jiya. If Rufus had that photo on his phone then he's definitely got more than that.”

Lucy nodded, as if her brain was finally catching up with reality. “And there are probably photo albums, videos, and other things at the house that we can explore.”

“And the kid?”

“You mean our kid?” she retorted, and the words made Wyatt’s nausea, that had never completely dissipated, rear its ugly head again. “I don't even know. We can't tell her and we can't tell Amy.” Even now there was a tiny smile in her mouth as she said her sister’s name. “We're going to have to wait until she leaves and the baby...I mean Hannah...is asleep, before we sit down and talk about how to really break down what's happening.”

She paused then, as if she was searching for words. Except Lucy never had to look for words with him, not really. They trusted each other implicitly.

“You know I care about you, Wyatt…and I know that things have been different lately…”

The understanding of why she was struggling came as quickly as the understanding of what she wanted, no, needed to hear.

“Lucy, we don't have to talk about this.” Not _now_ was implicit. “We've got so much stuff going on.” Too much, even. “We’ll talk about it later. I promise.”

Just like that, she was back to the Lucy from this morning, more excitement about Amy than anything else. “Okay. We will. We just have to get through the first couple minutes of seeing Amy, and then until Hannah is asleep. Then we get to work.”

“You have arrived at your destination,” the GPS announced, and the both looked up to stare at the place that was, apparently home. The place he had to go in with Lucy. The one where they would meet her sister. The one where they would meet their daughter. The one where they would, at some point in the night, get to ‘work’ on solving this, whatever that meant.

“We have a white picket fence.” He gestured towards it as he turned off the engine. “An actual white picket fence.”

“And a porch swing,” Lucy added unhelpfully.

There was really nothing to add to that, and since no one made a move to open the doors, they just stayed there, in a silence that was much more charged than the one they’d shared before.

“Hey,” Wyatt said after a while, nudging her hand with his until she’d turned it over and he could hold it. “You with me?”

Her grip on his hand was way stronger than a woman her size should be able to manage.  “Yeah. I'm with you.”

“Then let's go see your sister.”

“And _our_ kid.”

He nodded through the nausea. A kid. He’d never really dreamed about one, not even when he had Jessica, but he’d found that the idea didn’t bother him as much as the notion that he’d already missed so much time with her.

“Come on, Mrs. Logan.” He said, just to rile her up.

“Ha. I can’t believe we live in a world where I took your name,” she said, as their hands separated and they finally left the car. “That is so the last thing I would ever do.”

“Don’t blame me. I’m not the guy you – _she_ – married.”

Man, they lived weird lives.

But Wyatt didn’t have time to give that thought it’s due, because the door of the house was being wrenched open and a woman was standing there, thin and brown-haired, a woman he’d only seen in a tiny picture in Lucy’s locket.

“Amy,” he whispered, but Lucy was suddenly gone for his side, and yet he couldn’t look anywhere else but at the woman that wasn’t supposed to be here, the one that had, somehow, caused all of this to happen.

“Hey Luce, Wy,” she waved at him. “You guys made it just in time. I just put Hannah down and…”

But Lucy reached her before she could get another word out and everything else was muffled by their hug.

And yeah, maybe this day hadn’t exactly ended the way Wyatt thought it would, but as he saw the sisters embrace, he figured there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t give up to get this ending for Lucy.

Except it wasn’t an ending, was it? It was the beginning. Of everything.

  



	2. Unexpected Surprises (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 was Wyatt's POV and written by Lizzie. 
> 
> For this chapter, written by me (Lyra), we're going to go into the same events from Lucy's POV and the first moments of her reunion with Amy. Enjoy!

Lucy didn’t understand the magnitude of what she had done and the weight bearing down on her heart until the moment Agent Christopher had confirmed, that yes, Amy was back. Or more like, Amy had never been missing from this reality.

She’d missed her sister desperately. She’d jumped into a time machine without any real guarantee that everything would be ok, for goodness sake, of course she’d missed her. But Lucy didn’t truly understand the magnitude of Amy's loss until she realized she had her sister back.

Lucy had done it, it was real, and she could finally breathe again.

Taking a deep, shaking breath she threw herself at Rufus and Wyatt in random intervals, happiness making her so giddy that she couldn’t contain a joyful laugh.

Everything that she’d done the last couple of weeks had been extraordinary. She had changed the world, saved it, and learned from it. Plus, she’d somehow picked up a new family along the way. And just the thought of these two men, combined with the return of her sister and the confirmation that her mother was ok, made her fuse back with them in short hugs and words of joy.

Her sister was waiting for her. Her mom was ok. Her friends were okay.

Life was perfect.

“So, drinks tonight?” She beamed at Rufus who was nodding and smiling and hugging her back.

“I can’t wait for you to meet Amy,” spilled from her lips the moment she looked over at Wyatt, and she wasn’t even going to go into why it was different for Amy to meet Wyatt than it was for her to meet Rufus. Nope, plenty of time to go into that later.

Wyatt, however, looked to be lost in his own thoughts and she waved a hand in front of his face, “Earth to Wyatt, earth to Wyatt. Are you coming?”

“Yes, of course,” he replied, “Where are we going?”

Lucy beamed at him again, “Out, tonight! With my sister, Amy!”

She wanted them to meet, the two halves of her family. She needed them to, to feel complete.

Wyatt shook himself out of whatever thoughts were plaguing him and smiled at her, “You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted.”

Agent Christopher interrupted them with a slightly chastising voice, “Knock it off, lovebirds.”

Lucy wasn’t dumb, she knew what Agent Christopher was hinting at. She just didn’t expect it to be so blatantly spoken, so yes, a little flush was to be expected. It’d been a long time since she’d needed to untuck her hair from behind her ears to cover burning cheeks, but here she was.

“Let’s get this over with so you can all get back to your families,” Agent Christopher smiled.

Rufus whooped and Lucy joined in. He always knew how to cut the tension in any room.

Things had changed. After this day they wouldn’t be doing this anymore. But Lucy was sure that, considering all they’ve gone through together, they would never really be apart, either. They were family.

She wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t see Rufus next week for their weekly coffee/history session. And she wasn’t worried that Wyatt and everything she felt for him would suddenly disappear from her life.

They were stuck with each other and that’s just how it was. This was a good day. Scratch that, it was an amazingly brilliant and life changing day, and the one she had been waiting for. And there was nothing that could kill this high that she felt coursing through her.

Not the multiple documents they had to sign. Not the countless non-disclosure agreements that she had to read from top to bottom because history had taught her that words have power and she wouldn't sign something without reading it. Not even the monotone voices of some of the interviewers could kill this spark inside of her.

Every piece of paper and interviewer meant she was one step closer to Amy. And she was worth not losing her cool, losing herself, and demanding that she be released this instance. That would only make this process longer.

Once they were done she power walked her way back to the locker room with Wyatt and Rufus to change back into their clothes and collect their things. Well...she would’ve if they were there. You see, her locker was empty. Except for her purse and one thing.

Lucy curled her hand in the soft fabric of the only thing in her locker and slowly pulled it out.

Red.

She stared at the thing in her hand in confusion and let it fall open to reveal its true form. It was a dress. A red dress with flowers and a deep v-neck in the front. Admittedly it was beautiful, but it sure as hell wasn’t hers.

“Okay, what’s the deal here? Is this someone’s idea of a practical joke?” she gesticulated, as if the dress’s presence in her locker was a personal affront. She didn’t have time to play games with whoever changed her stuff. She had a sister to get back to, “This is not mine. I know for sure this is not mine, because I have never bought anything resembling this dress in my entire life.”

“Looks cute,” Rufus remarked from the corner, where he was holding his regular hoodie and stuff that actually looked like it belonged to him.

Wyatt made a noise in the back of his throat and looked around as if he needed someone to blame for something, “Wait, why is your stuff all normal and ours isn’t?”

Lucy would join him in the hunt for whoever decided this was the perfect time to play a joke. She had a sister to get back to.

“Your stuff isn’t normal either?” There was an edge of relief to her voice as she came come enough to peer into Wyatt’s locker. She didn’t see anything odd or out of place, not like her locker which was practically empty. “Eh, I don’t see the problem here.”

“These are not my clothes, for one. And that is definitely not my keychain," he said holding a pink, fluffy keychain that she actually found kind of adorable, but doubted Wyatt had purchased for himself. “So, Rufus, if this is your idea of a joke, it’s a bad one. Can you just give us back our stuff?”

Rufus raised both hands to the sky. “I’m innocent here. I was with you on the Lifeboat. When would I have time to play jokes? Besides, it’s just clothes, how can you be sure they’re not really yours? Maybe your sense of style changed in this timeline.”

“You’re funny, Rufus,” Wyatt declared, and he pulled the clothes out the locker with way more force than necessary. Lucy heard a clink and watched as Wyatt froze, eyes firmly glued to three rings held by a necklace in Wyatt's grasp.

“Is that…is that your wedding ring?” Lucy asked, as he stared at the clearly matching bands. Wyatt didn’t answer and she glanced over at Rufus. His eyes were focused, like they always were when he started to piece things together.

Something had changed in this world.

It wasn’t just her sister who had returned. Something had changed for Wyatt and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. If it was his Jessica...she wouldn’t stand in the way. She couldn’t stand in the way. This was his wife and she cared about him enough to push through this hole that started to grow in her chest, the happiness from earlier plunging and making her stomach turn.

“No,” he muttered in a flat tone.

“Well, it looks like a wedding ring to me,” confirmed Rufus, who’d come to stand between them. “And that looks like an engagement ring. And those are car keys, fluffy pink car keys, Wyatt. You did not have fluffy pink car keys before. You might have had those suburban dad clothes, but you did not have those car keys. So what else changed? And how did we change your car by getting Amy back?”

Lucy blurted out, “And my clothes!”

“Maybe Amy picked them for you?” Wyatt suggested, giving her an oddly flattering once over before grinning at her in a way that said, 'Everything's gonna be ok.'

Lucy brushed the way that made her feel, aside. She couldn't think of that if Jessica was back.

“You seem very interested in a ring that’s not yours. Are you sure Jessica is not, you know…alive? Not that I have any idea how Amy could…yeah, but you know?”

“This is not the wedding ring I wore before. I would remember that.” Wyatt answered.

Rufus looked like he didn’t dare touch the rings,“Okay, why don’t we all go change – yes, change into the clothes that are absolutely not yours, and then we’ll go ask Agent Christopher? She’s gotta know.”

“I’m not wearing this dress! The cut of it would be absolutely awful on me,” Lucy complained before groaning and switching tactics. The clothes she had on were itching her to hell and she needed to get one step closer to her sister. If this dress was another thing she had to get through then she guessed she would have to make due. She started walking towards the bathroom.

As soon as she was behind the closed door she stripped off her clothes and stared at the offending object. Yes, she had worn dresses before but never quite a cut like this. Even Amy had never worn or bought her something like this, as far as she knew. But again, the longer she took and the longer they waited, the longer it would be until she got to Amy and figured out what was going on.

Lucy tugged on her dress without another thought and returned to her friends.

She felt like a stranger in her own skin, the dress fitting perfectly but leaving her feeling adrift. There was unknown territory ahead of her, she could feel it, and she wasn’t ready for anything other than seeing her sister again.

“I look like someone else,” she complained before giving Wyatt a once over. “And so do you.” Despite the oddity of what was happening and what he was wearing...he looked almost comfortable, as if he usually wore clothes like that. Rufus broke her out of her train of thought when he appeared. “You, however, look exactly the same,” she said to Rufus.

Rufus tapped his fingers and winced a little at what he read on his phone, “Probably because nothing has changed for me. I checked, And, oh, Wyatt…man…I also checked, about Jessica …yeah …”

Lucy felt like she was intruding upon a private moment as Wyatt replied and looked away, “We’re not married, I know.”

“Yeah, but that’s the thing,” Rufus continued before pausing, “You never were, I don’t think. The stories about her, her disappearance, her death? They’re all gone. I can’t find her. I don’t know if she’s alive, but I’m pretty sure that you just …never married her.”

“But …who did I marry then?”

Rufus shrugged. “What do I look like, a psychic? I just know how to Google.”

Lucy palmed her forehead. This was getting more complicated and heartbreaking by the second. She had her sister back, the one who had pushed her to say yes to this journey with Wyatt and Rufus. And while she had gotten her sister back and though she knew that Wyatt had started moving on from his wife...a part of her understood what it felt like to lose someone and feel helpless. And now, looking at Wyatt, she could see it, the could have beens and the what ifs.

“Let’s just go ask Agent Christopher, okay? We’re gaining nothing by standing here speculating and the longer we stay here the more time it takes me to get to my sister.” Just the feeling on her lips of saying Amy's name was enough to put a smile back on Lucy’s face, despite the confusion with their lockers.

“Yes, boss,” is all she got from Wyatt before they headed out to find Agent Christopher.

The agent gave them a look of surprise when she spotted them coming towards her a couple minutes later, “You guys heading home, or are you picking Hannah up?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Lucy asked, because the question had seemed directed at her, but the words were not connecting with an actual idea or person. Who was Hannah?

“Yeah, yeah, Amy’s already babysitting, so you guys might as well take advantage of the night off. Gotcha. Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same,” which was when she gestured to Rufus and headed for the exit. “Jiya’s been released from the hospital, she said she’d be waiting for you at her place. Let’s leave the lovebirds to their date.”

They all watched her until Rufus whirled around and gestured at them, his eyes wide, and obviously connecting the missing dots, “Oh, ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh. YOU. GUYS. ARE. MARRIED?”

“No! Wait, are we? What?” Lucy reeled back a little and started waving her hands back and forth, “Why are we thinking that? And why did she say that Amy was babysitting? Babysitting who? And who is Hannah?”

“YOUR PHONE! I’m such an idiot, why didn’t I think of this before. Lucy, where’s your phone?” Rufus reached for the bag she was holding, rummaging around in it the way that only good friends do. And then, finding nothing, turned to Wyatt with wide eyes. “It’s 2018. Who doesn’t have their phone with them?”

“I didn’t even…” Lucy was having a hard time finding words. Or standing still. Rufus had to be joking. “I didn’t want to call Amy. Not now, not after so long. I wanted to see her first. So I just…didn’t…Where _is_ my phone?”

“Doesn’t matter. Wyatt, your phone. Give it to me. NOW.”

But Wyatt was already palming his pockets and looking confused, so Rufus finally paused and pulled out his. “I did a quick Google search before, looking for Jessica. Looking for my family. But I never thought to look…”

Rufus turned the phone over and showed them, “There. _This_ is who Amy is babysitting. Hannah. Who I assume is your daughter.”

Wyatt seemed to flare up in anger while Lucy stood stock still, mind blanking out at Rufus was saying and the little girl with Jiya on his phone. This had to be a joke, right? 

“Knock it off, Rufus. Lucy and I are not married and we do not have a kid.” She watched as Wyatt widened his stance and jabbed one finger down as if by his own will he could make this not true. “This is ridiculous. That could be anyone’s kid there with Jiya.”

She brushed off the feeling that his indignation riled up inside of her. A kid. She wanted to deny it...but that girl, Hannah, she looked just like every baby picture her mother whipped out when she had a boyfriend come over. It was her. Except the eyes. Those beautiful and expressive eyes were all Wyatt.

And though she had never planned for this, though kids had never been part of her life plan, and though this felt like a million things coming right at her from all directions...she felt something tug at her while looking at Hannah’s face. The Lucy and Wyatt of this timeline had met, fallen in love, and had this beautiful child.

That had to mean something, didn’t it?

Lucy had somehow inherited a life she had never planned for, with a man she couldn’t help but want to reach out for. It was more than complicated. It was life changing, and at this point she felt like it was messing with her head and she couldn’t think straight at all.

Rufus swiped to another photo and she felt that same tug in her chest at the picture caught mid-smile of her daughter. _Hers and Wyatts_. And as he kept sliding from one photo to another, she couldn’t help but watch avidly.

“But it really, really couldn’t. Nothing else makes sense. You two are wearing different clothes. You have one set of keys, which probably leads to like a minivan or something. I bet there’s like an old brick house with a white fence. Oh God, what if my life changed too? What if I’m married to Jiya? What if I’m this kid’s Godfather? What does a Godfather even do?”

“Okay, let’s use common sense here,” Wyatt said as he paced a little and Lucy tried to contain her inner freak out, “Our trip to save Amy couldn’t have caused me to end up married to Lucy. So why don’t we get you in front of a computer, Rufus, so you can check our files, and then we’ll get this sorted out?”

“Yeah, a computer. Yes. And your ID’s. Do you have that with you?”

They did. The same ID, for Lucy, with the same picture, and a very different address.

One that matched Wyatt’s.

“I’m not gonna say I told you so…” Rufus said, as he walked past them to the nearest computer and started typing. “But I definitely told you so,” he finished as they drew closer to the information on the screen.

_Wyatt and Lucy Logan. Married 2015. One child, Hannah._

Lucy swallowed as she read the words over and over. It was real. _She_ was real.

“Convinced now?” Rufus said as he pushed away from the desk.

“But how is this possible? We just went to get Amy back! How did that affect us? And I just…how is it possible that I had a child and I don’t …remember her.” Lucy’s voice was small and pained.

“Hannah is…was, Hannah was my mother’s name,” Wyatt muttered.

An awkward pause followed for a couple seconds as neither Lucy or Rufus knew what to say at the discovery of that little tidbit.

Rufus reacted first, grabbing the fluffy keys from Wyatt’s hands and pushing them towards the parking lot, where a minivan near them chirped very quickly, “Look, I gotta go check on Jiya. You two need to go home. If Amy and….Hannah are together, then that’s probably for the best, no? Kill two birds with one stone and all of that. Either way, that’s a fancy car that surely has a GPS and you two can just input the address you already eh, have and go ho-I mean, your place. Yes. Boy, this is weird.”

Lucy tried to distinguish what color the minivan was or any other clues to her life, like those cheesy bumper stickers that go on the back, but she was unable to with all the things that we're going on in her head, “You’re not helping, Rufus.”

“Okay, yeah. Helping. That’s my job now. Okay, yes, go deal with…family. Don’t…I mean, you probably shouldn’t just, you know, tell people that you don’t remember them? Especially a young, impressionable kid. That’s the kind of thing that scars you for life. I think. Either way, I’ll be back later…with Jiya, if possible.” Rufus nodded at the car, and then placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “We’ll figure this out.”

With that he was gone and it was just her and Wyatt. Not a word was said as they hopped in the car, buckled in, and set the GPS to a home she had never seen with a child waiting inside that she didn't remember having, with a man she held strong feelings for.

_Damn it._

Wyatt's voice tore her from her thoughts and she realized she had no idea how much time had passed or how long she had stared out the window in contemplation. There was no doubt that the excitement at the prospect of seeing her sister was still present inside of her, but this would be too much for anyone to handle and she thought she was doing pretty well considering the circumstances.

“Rufus was right.”

“What?” She finally looked at him and had to curl her hands in her dress. Trembling apprehension and anxiety were running through her.

“Rufus was right.” he repeated. “This is weird.”

“How could it not be weird? We're married. With a kid.” She leaned back on the headrest and took a deep breath, before turning to him once more and locking eyes with him at a red light. “I just…What are we going to do?”

“We're going to do what we always do, figure this out together. Okay?”

It was exactly what she needed to hear and what helped her get her mind back on track and ready for what they were about to face. She wasn't doing this alone. Wyatt was here.

Lucy exhaled loudly, and she nodded repeatedly, “Okay, yeah.” Another deep breath. “It'll take time, and we probably have to keep it to ourselves that we don't remember…and there are probably photo albums, videos, and other things at the house that we can explore.”

_And learn how we got to this place in our lives._

“And the kid?”

“You mean our kid? I don't even know. We can't tell her and we can't tell Amy.” Lucy paused at her sister's name before continuing. “We're going to have to wait until she leaves and the baby...I mean Hannah...is asleep, before we sit down and talk about how to really break down what's happening.”

She looked ahead once more, gathering her courage to say something, anything, to address how this would change _them;_  the two people whose day brightened at the sight of the other, who talked for a moment about a possible future together before being surprised by this mess, “You know I care about you, Wyatt…and I know that things have been different lately…”

“Lucy, we don't have to talk about this.” Not _now_ was implicit. “We've got so much stuff going on. We’ll talk about it later. I promise.”

Just like that, she felt herself unwind. She was back to the Lucy before she was hit with a marriage and a kid, more excitement about Amy than anything else. “Okay. We will. We just have to get through the first couple minutes of seeing Amy, and then until Hannah is asleep. Then we get to work.”

“You have arrived at your destination,” the GPS announced, and they both looked up to stare at the place that was, apparently home. The place she had to go in with Wyatt, her husband, and where her _child_ lay resting, running around, and just...existing.

“We have a white picket fence.” He pointed towards it as he turned off the engine. “An actual white picket fence.”

“And a porch swing,” Lucy added, eyes widening a little at the color of it. It looked just like the one she had when she was younger, right down to the red paint that covered it. She would spend hours on it with Amy, alternating between talking, reading, and playing. It was their spot and she wondered if she shared the same thing with her daughter.

It still didn’t feel real and she would’ve told herself that it wasn’t if it weren’t for the truth looking right back at her in the form of her house with Wyatt. This was real.

“Hey,” Wyatt said after a while, nudging her hand with his until she’d turned it over and he could hold it. “You with me?”

She gripped his hand, the lifeline  and calm in her storm. With this man right here, she could do this.  Together they could. “Yeah. I'm with you.”

He gave her another gentle squeeze, “Then let's go see your sister.”

“And _our_ kid.”

“Come on, Mrs. Logan.” She could tell by the smile he used that he was teasing her. Both of them would have to put on a good front to make it through what came next and she had no time to contemplate how good it sounded to be called Mrs. Logan. Sometime soon she'd have to face it, but not now.

“Ha. I can’t believe we live in a world where I took your name,” she said, as their hands separated and they finally left the car. “That is so the last thing I would ever do.”

“Don’t blame me. I’m not the guy you – _she_ married.”

Lucy snorted and was on the cusp of replying when the door of the house opened to reveal a very familiar woman. Thin and brown-haired, she was wearing a comfortable sweater and jeans, the necklace Lucy had bought her years ago to match her own locket, resting around her neck.

“Hey Lucy. Wy,” she waved at him. “You guys made it just in time. I just put Hannah down and…”

Lucy had reached her before she could get another word out and everything else was muffled by their hug.

“Hey,” Amy said as she gently patted Lucy’s back and she returned the hug, “You haven't hugged me like this since I went away for camp one summer when we were little.”

Lucy could feel her face scrunch up and the tears forming in her eyes.

She didn't want to cry. She wanted to keep strong and calm, put on a brave face to not alarm her sister or clue her into what was going through her mind. But she couldn't help it. These weren't tears of joy, not sadness.

After hearing the news that her sister was back she'd thought that was the happiest she'd ever been, that she could finally breathe in that moment. She'd been wrong. _This_ right here was the happiest she'd ever been.

The joking tone left Amy’s voice almost immediately as she pulled Lucy close, “Lucy...You're shaking.” She cupped the back of Lucy's head when it fell to her shoulder, “What happened?”

When Lucy didn't respond she continued with, “You're scaring me. Someone tell me what's wrong.”

Lucy didn't want to move away or let go of her sister, a piece of her still fearing that this was all a dream, that this was just someone playing with her mind, that her family wasn't back.

Her fingers curled into Amy's sweater and she told herself, “No.”

This was real.

This was all real.

Lucy took in a deep breath and pulled back, taking in her sisters face as if checking to see if there was anything she had forgotten about her baby sister. She wasn't going to lie, some things had faded over time. Little details that were all Amy started fading away the more she fought, traveled, and changed history to get back to her.

But now...now she had Amy back. And this, the woman in front of her, she was worth every hour of confusion, loneliness, anger, and work to get to this exact moment; in the arms of family.

Lucy wiped her cheeks clear of her tears and stepped back. Her sister was still looking at her in concern.

“Lucy?” Amy said as she reached for Lucy's hand.

“I'm ok. I promise. I just...had a hard day at work.”

Lucy wasn't sure if Amy believed her, she always got this little crinkle between her eyebrows when she thought something was up, but her shoulders relaxed. She was going to let it go.

“Must've been a hell of a day.”

“You have no idea,” said a voice to the left of her.

She hadn't even noticed that Wyatt had gotten close to her or that the warmth on the small of her back was his hand. It took her a moment to realize that he must have placed it there when she started crying in Amy arms.

Lucy let it all wash over her.

No matter what challenges Wyatt and her were going to face when they entered the house and faced their daughter, or how scared she was at the thought of being responsible for a small life, her life was infinitely better having these two people with her.

That, right there, was more than enough for her.

End Chapter 2.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we're going to switch things up and have Lucy's POV as she starts to explore the home and life she has with Wyatt. Might even have Hannah make an appearance! 
> 
> Thank you for reading Clockblockers! <3


	3. Exploring (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy begins to piece together the life she has with Wyatt, peeks in on her child, and thinks about the life she has inherited overnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya and welcome to chapter 3! From here on out Lizzie and I will be switching whose POV comes first. Chapter 1 started with Wyatt's. That was followed by Lucy's. So for chapter 3, the next leg of our journey, we're going to start with Lucy's POV. 
> 
> Personally I've never done something like this and I hope you enjoy what's coming next!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and let us know what you think via review after you finish reading!

She had no intention of letting Amy out of her sight, or away from her side and out of arm's reach. At least not for the foreseeable future. But things didn’t always work out the way you planned them. Amy was back, and so was the rest of her life. So, after a quick chat where Amy collected her stuff and informed them that because they were so late she had to read Hannah _three_ stories to put her to sleep instead of waiting for them to read their customary one, she was out the door and on her way to record her podcast.

Lucy watched from the doorway and didn’t move until Amy had driven away and turned the corner. Her sister was back. Her sister was out there living her life. Her sister was breathing, laughing, loving, and being all these things Lucy had forgotten.

And it was all worth it. Even this mess that she and Wyatt seemed to have found themselves in.

“You ready?” Wyatt’s voice sounded from behind her.

She’d known he was still there. When Amy was leaving they’d both walked her to the door and Lucy had found herself appreciating that, even in these small moments, he was always there to lend his support, even if it was silently.

“For what?”

Wyatt pointed back towards the stairs, “To check on Hannah. To figure out what…”

“Lead us to be married and with a kid?”

“Exactly.”

“Ok, let’s do it.”

After locking up she followed him up the carpeted stairs. There were photos to her right that she wanted to stop and analyze in hopes of piecing her life together, but she kept following Wyatt past an office, a bedroom, and two other doors they didn’t even try because it was obvious where Hannah was.

A purple door was slightly open, a gentle tune playing as flashes of light passed by the door. They both came to a stop. She wasn’t ready to push the door open and she could tell by his rigid posture he wasn’t ready either.

But this wasn’t going to disappear if they willed it to.

“You ready?” she asked, throwing the words that he’d spoken to her at the bottom of the stairs back at him, as she placed her hand on the door.

He nodded and stood there as Lucy gently nudged the door open and peered inside. She wasn’t sure what she expected from her child’s room. She’d been an odd kid, one who spent more time reading than playing with the bright and colorful toys that Amy had favored when they were younger. And she’d never really spent any other time with kids throughout her life.

From what she could see from the light pouring into the room from the hall and the night light throwing stars across the ceiling and walls of her room, Hannah was a messy child and old enough to sleep in a bigger bed. They couldn’t really see her because she was across the room, forming a little lump under the blankets. The only thing Lucy could make out was a mess of hair at the top of the blankets. There were books strewn across the end of her bed and some on the floor, toys on the floor near a chest and if she wasn’t mistaken, planes on the walls.

This kid was a hurricane waiting to happen and Lucy had no intention of waking her up until she got a hold of herself and figured out more about her life.

“Let’s not wake her up.”

Again, Wyatt was oddly quiet and only nodded as she pulled the door back.

“I think it’s best that we explore, try to figure some things out tonight, before she wakes up in the morning. I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but parents should know about their kid right?”

“Right. And I’ll check in with Rufus and see how Jiya is.” Wyatt nodded.

“Ok, let me know. I think that office back there was mine.”

“How can you be sure?” He asked, his head leaning to one side adorably.

“The books. Even in this timeline my office has stacks of books everywhere. What are you going to do?”

“Think I’m going to check downstairs, see what’s down there.”

She followed him as he stepped away from the room and walked back towards the stairs and the office right at the top of it. He stopped long enough to peer in and snort. “Hannah is definitely your daughter. Kind of looks like her room.”

Lucy felt the tension slip away and a laugh erupt from inside of her, “Very funny. Laugh it up all you want. I can’t be the only influence in her life.”

He made his way down a couple steps before throwing a small grin back her way that made her equal parts want to curse him and kiss him, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Stop calling me “ma’am,” she grumbled, not taking her eyes away from his form as he walked away, shoulders shaking in laughter. Like with Amy, she stood there until he disappeared from sight, before turning into the office. She shut the door behind her before thinking twice. She had a kid now. What if something happened? What if she woke up in the middle of the night? Lucy wasn’t sure what she was going to do but she knew that she couldn’t close the door completely.

She was about to step away and look for something to stop the heavy door from closing completely when she noticed a door stopper was already there. This Lucy kept the door open. This Lucy was prepared.

This Lucy was a mother.

A sudden pain gripped her as she placed the stopper under the door and took in the office, half afraid to touch anything and half immensely curious. This was her office, filled with her things, some books noticeable at just a glance, but then again it wasn’t just _her_ room.

It was another Lucy’s. A Lucy who had fallen in love with Wyatt. A Lucy who had decided to have a child. A Lucy who shared a home, a life, in these very walls. She couldn’t help but feel like a thief. She was Lucy Preston. But not this world’s Lucy Preston.

She plopped down in the chair behind “her” desk and placed her face in her hands, taking deep breaths.

That little girl, Hannah, she had taken away her mother. Just like that, she’d made a child an orphan, of sorts. She hadn’t meant to, but the truth of the matter is that she had. She had replaced her with a woman who never thought she’d get to have a child, a husband, or a home as picture perfect as this one.

Lucy couldn’t go back.

If she jumped in the Lifeboat and tried to fix this “mistake” she could lose her sister once more. She could lose her mom and come back to a world where she was horribly sick and barely responsive. She couldn’t do that to either women.

And a small part of her knew that she also couldn’t just erase Hannah. She didn’t know this girl, had never held her in her arms, had never tended to her aches and pains, but a version of Lucy had. A verison of her had brought life into this world and Lucy couldn’t bring herself to jump on the Lifeboat and take it back.

For the Lucy who had filled these walls with the many books her husband clearly treasured, for the Lucy who had gave birth to Hannah, for the Lucy who had made this place a home, and for the man that was downstairs trying to figure out how the kind of life they had together, she was going to try.

Sitting up she wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands and looked across her desk, eyes locking on a truly horrible but beautiful picture frame made out popsicles and some serious amount of love. Like the first time she had seen Hannah, she felt something wash over her when she looked at the child.

Running her fingers over it she brought it closer to her. It stood out among all the books, folders, and academic papers that made her office look like what you’d assume a historian’s office would look like. And this frame, housing the face of a grinning Hannah, was at the center of it all, in a spot of honor on Lucy’s desk.

For the Lucy who loved this girl, for herself, she would try.

***

She started with the bookshelves.

Truth be told, she’d always wanted a room like this, with sturdy shelves, every book that she owned at her fingertips, and space to grow. She just thought she’d never get the chance unless she remodeled one of the rooms in her mother’s house or built them at a pretty penny in whatever home she decided to live in. And all of that would hinge on her mother no longer being sick or in need of her help.

The bookshelves ran along the walls, boxing her in with their words, and only stopping at the door to let her out. Each shelf went from floor to ceiling, each section illuminated by a soft light fixture in the ceiling. Running her hand over the central pilasters she realized that they matched the patterns on the corners and legs of the desk where Hannah’s photos sat.

Back when she was a teenager, this was the room she’d dreamed about. She didn’t care about boy bands and plastering her walls with posters of the latest heartthrob. She wanted a room filled with books, a sofa to curl up in, and a collection of her own that she had built over the years.

This room was her dream room.

Things were different. She was different and she had a husband and a kid to show for how different her life was. But this, this room, was a part of her that had never changed and that a version of her had made true.

Lucy loved it.

Plucking some books out of their spots she began to piece together her life. You could always tell so much about a person by what they indulge in during their spare moments, especially when it came to books. So far, she didn’t see anything really out of place. She had history books, biographies, manuscripts, and journals that she was familiar with. Same old, same old.

It wasn’t until she got to the edges of her bookshelves, around the edges of the room to the door that she noticed some things that were definitely not ones she would buy or read. There were mystery books and thrillers interspersed with books on cars and being out on the open road.

With a shock she realized that these weren’t hers. Neither were the books right underneath it like Goodnight Rebel Girls and Rebel Princesses with their bright spines and even more colorful covers. These were Wyatt’s books and Hannah’s books. And they were here, in her sanctuary, mixed in with celebrated historical figures from all over the world and the lives they lead.

She liked her space, even as a child. And yes, she shared with her sister whenever they happened to have similar tastes or when her mother forced her to, but her space was hers. Her little getaway from whatever was happening at school, at home, or with her mom. Her books, and the time she spent hidden under a tent of her own making with a flashlight, two chairs, a blanket, and her child's bookshelf, were full of fond memories she found she could take with her no matter where she went.

Even to this day Lucy still remembers her little blue and green bookshelf with all the books she'd meticulously chosen at the shop her mother, Amy, and herself visited every Sunday. Each book taken care of, and loved as if it were the only copy in the world.  Most importantly they were hers.

Not her mothers.

Not her sisters.

Hers.

This safety blanket had carried over into adulthood.

Lucy's room back at her mom's place had a comfy sofa that she had pushed against her window and turned into a makeshift reading nook. She had a special lamp that she'd specifically bought because the chain to turn it off and on was long enough for her to reach it without moving away from her treasured spot. Amy had even given her this thick and crocheted blue blanket like the one she'd used when she was little.

The office she spent her time in before she started traveling through time was the same way. Books upon books littered her little office, stacked wherever she could fit them. And while she did plenty of work at that desk, she would never read at it. She cleared some space and tucked a comfy chair in the corner, always finding that her reading was made even better by the touch of light on her face and the words she was reading.

That chair was hers.

Not her students when they visited.

Not the professors.

Not her other colleagues.

Just hers.

Because of all of this, it seemed almost unfathomable that Wyatt and Hannah's things were in here. In her sanctuary. No one else’s belongings were allowed, encouraged, or were to be found in her place of refuge of calm.

Wyatt and Hannah’s books were evidence enough that things were different in this timeline.

She had allowed them into her world, had embraced her growing family, love, and change. And somehow she knew that she had become a better person for it. Because of love.

With Wyatt.

Absentmindedly she pulled a couple of his books out and sat down in the loveseat across from her desk.

 _With Wyatt_ ran through her mind.

Although she was trapped...no, not trapped. And not just she. This wasn’t just about her. It was about both of them.

Although _they_ were being put in charge of a life, a home, and a daughter they'd never imagined...they weren't alone. Yes, physically she was alone in this room trying to piece her life together, one photo frame and book at a time. But Wyatt was here. She didn't have to through this alone and she would bet to hell that he was probably as scared or even more than she was. But he'd stick it through, make the best of things, and help her...help them...figure this all out.

Back then in the car... she'd wanted to talk, wanted to lay her cards out. She'd wanted to for a long time. And he'd been right to hold off on things until they made due with all of this. But a part of her, a curious and fragile part that ate away at her with insecurities, wondered what would become of the feelings they were just beginning to share.

She wanted him. And she knew he wanted her. But having a kid, it felt like jumping twelve steps forward and past the first awkward dates, when they decided to move in together, get married, and have Hannah. That last one brought her mind to a screeching halt, fingers pausing over the cover of another mystery novel of Wyatt's.

They had sex.

Lucy wasn't an idiot. She knew about the birds and the bees, thank you very much. Even had a book about it that her mom had thought would help her and that she had promptly shoved behind all her other books because she had no time for boys, but there was no way she was shoving, hiding, destroying a book just because she didn't care for it.

Back to the matter at hand. Sex. With Wyatt. It happened. And she didn't remember. I mean, it probably didn't just happen once. It probably happened multiple times...well, more than multiple times. They met years ago, were married, and had a child for goodness sake.

Groaning, Lucy tried to get her mind to stop and her cheeks from flushing, but she couldn't help herself. And it wasn't because Wyatt was good looking (he was) and all of a sudden her libido switched on like a furnace. That was ridiculous. Her cheeks were flushing because she'd thought about it. About him. About them.

And because, considering how she felt about the kind, compassionate, and capable man that was downstairs, she was kind of bothered that she didn't remember any of it or know how it felt to be touched by him.

Lucy let out a breath and tipped her head forward into the book she was flipping through.

Had he figured out how to twist her into knots with his words? His touch? Did she do the same thing in return? The thoughts just kept coming and coming and coming.

“Did it happen here?” she whispered into the book and the silent room.

Lucy's felt herself tense up when the next thought floated through her mind. And this time, as soon it fell from her lips, it made her fly out her seat and into the pile of paperwork cluttering her desk.

“Am I going to be sleeping in the bed we had sex in?”

She wasn’t ready for that answer.

***

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed or how she’d come to be sitting on the floor, books, and random toys she had found under her desk while on the hunt to discover everything she could about this life, surrounding her, when someone lightly rapped on the door.

“Come in,” she replied without looking up from the stack of papers in her hands. Jiya’s voice made her look up. Rufus had mentioned coming over after checking up on Jiya but she hadn't expected both of them to arrive so soon. A glance at the clock against the wall let her know that she had been exploring the office longer than she expected.

“Hey. How you holding up?”

Lucy watched curiously as Jiya entered the room and stuck the little door stopper back in place. It was probably a normal thing, and she felt oddly proud of herself that she’d thought of it too.

She huffed out a breath as Jiya sat across from her, hands falling over to her dress covered lap, “I’m…not sure. How am I holding up?”

Jiya took her hand, “Well, I’ve heard you apparently don’t remember things the way I do, but you’re my friend, and a little amnesia isn’t going to change that. And one thing I can tell you about my friend is that she’s one of the strongest women I know. She can get through this. She can get through anything.”

Lucy needed to hear those words. “I’m glad you’re my friend.”

Jiya matched Lucy’s grin. “Me too.”

They sat in silence for a bit.

Placing the papers she was going through into pile number #3 of ‘discovering Lucy and Wyatt’s home life’ she straightened her back, looked up into Jiya’s eyes and went for it. “Can I ask you a question? I mean, can I ask you seventy five questions? Because I feel like…this life…it’s mine, and I sorta see it, you know? I see the signs. And yet a part of me just can’t connect the dots. How did I get here? How did I…was it all about Wyatt?”

“What? The house? The baby?”

Lucy nodded, replying with, “Yes. I …I think you know that …”

Jiya grinned and tipped her head as if in thought or as if a certain memory had popped up in her head about Lucy and Wyatt, “Yeah, yeah, the feelings are not a new thing?”

Lucy wanted to know what put that grin on Jiya’s face, what she knew about the life that they had. She held steady and said, “Not what I was going to say, but …I can see falling in love with him and maybe someday, emphasis on the someday, trying something. That’s not what I’m struggling with. It’s the rest that I ….”

She wanted to know who made the first move. Which one of them was brave enough to take the first step? The first date? The first kiss? Just anything to get them to where they were now.

What Jiya said next shocked Lucy.

“It wasn’t him. Honestly, I think it was mostly you, in the beginning at least. You were the one who approached him. You even asked him out. Guess it makes sense that you'd be the one to bring up having a kid.”

“I don’t even know what to say. This...Hannah...it wasn’t ever part of the plan…”

Lucy had never been the kind to put herself first or to ask for something. She wasn't the bold one, the one who lucked out; but here she was with a husband, a child, and a friend telling her that she had made Wyatt want this, all of this. She had taken the first steps.

“I know. We’ve had this talk before.”

“We have?”

“Yeah, but you wanted it. You were ready for this next step.”

“And Wyatt?”

”Oh he was terrified, for so long. Terrified that he’d turn out like his father. Terrified that he couldn’t do this. You wanted it. You made him want it.”

Wyatt was one of the bravest people she knew, one of the strongest, and despite having known him for a while now, Lucy was struck by the fact that she  she knew nothing about his father or home life. But that wasn't something she could ask of Jiya or even Wyatt, not directly. They were going through enough without rehashing painful pasts they'd rather forget.

Lucy was at a loss of words. “I just …don’t know what to do.”

“No one would, in a situation like this. I don’t even know what I’d do if Rufus came back and we were married and he didn’t remember. Let alone if we had a kid. But you’re not alone.”

“I know. And I’m grateful for that. Talking about Rufus, what’s changed for you two?”

The young woman shrugged, “I’m not sure. I know we don’t have a kid…”

“You haven’t asked,” Lucy finished for her.

“No. We’re not married but I’m afraid to ask him if he knows we moved in together or that he’s met my family. Just little things, trivial stuff at best because when he saw me in the hospital, that look in his eyes, it was him.”

Lucy huffed, “So we’re all in for a couple surprises.”

“Yes, but we’re together. Also, maybe it’s a time for discovery.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I can see you’re still the same Lucy. He’s the same Wyatt. At the core, you’re still the same people.”

What Jiya was saying made sense. That’s why she wasn’t wigging out and running for the hills. For one, she’d never abandon a kid, much less hers, because things were royally screwed. And two, she knew that the people around  her and the person that she was, were still the same. At the core they all were.

At least they lucked out on that.

Jiya patted her hand and got to her feet, hands on her hips, as if ready to take on the world. There was no denying that she had come to think of Jiya as a friend throughout the last couple of months. But it was right here, right now, the words that she spoke as she helped Lucy get up that solidified the bond they have between them into something unbreakable and unlike anything she's ever had with a female friend.

“Let’s go downstairs so we can all have a conversation about what you missed and we can figure it out. Because that man down there, the one you married, he loves you more than life itself, and that little girl you have, you both love her more than life itself. And you don’t want to miss out on that.”

Lucy followed Jiya out of the room, only stopping to push the door stopper back to the side, just where she’d found it.

She didn’t even notice that she was doing it.

End of Chapter 3.


	4. Exploring (Wyatt's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wyatt begins to piece together the life he shares with Lucy and Hannah. Feels happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya and welcome to chapter 4! From here on out Lizzie and I will be switching whose POV comes first. Chapter 1 started with Wyatt's. That was followed by Lucy's. So for chapter 3, the next leg of our journey, we're going to start with Lucy's POV. 
> 
> Personally I've never done something like this and I hope you enjoy what's coming next!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and let us know what you think via review after you finish reading!

Lucy didn’t seem like she was ready to let go of Amy anytime soon, and Wyatt wasn’t even sure he could blame her. What would he have done had he gotten Jessica back? Maybe he would have held her forever.

And yet, Jessica had never felt farther away than she did now. If she never met him, the chances were high she was still alive – he’d have to make sure – and if she was, then …she was probably better off. And hey, considering the idyllic life he’d walked into, maybe  _ he _ was better off as well.

Except, good things did not happen to Wyatt Logan. They never had. So there had to be a catch. He couldn’t have just walked into a life where he didn’t have to carry the burden of being responsible for the death of the woman he loved and he actually had a chance to try at being a family with another woman he might, perhaps, be falling in love with.

It was just too good to be true.

But Amy and Lucy were smiling at each other, and then Amy was staring at him with a sort of sisterly affection he couldn’t really comprehend, as if she not only knew him, but liked him, and then there was something about her podcast, and three stories for Hannah because, yeah, she was a pushover, and then she was out the door and Lucy was just standing there, looking and looking and looking, even after her sister was long gone.

He didn’t even know Amy, and he felt like he couldn’t turn away. But there was the matter of the kid.

Their kid.

“You ready?” he asked, less because he wanted to actually explore the house and more because he thought it probably wasn’t healthy for her to go on a spiral of regrets or could-have-beens. She had Amy back, after all. They had this …whatever this was. He could roll with it.  _ They _ could roll with it.

“For what?”

Sometimes, Wyatt thought, Lucy could really be a pain in the ass.

And the worst part was that, most of the times; he really, really liked that about her.

“To check on Hannah.” He said, like it was obvious, and it really should have been. “To figure out what …”

“Led us to be married and with a kid?”

But, strangely enough, that was the easiest thing for Wyatt to see. How it’d happened – how Amy being alive led them here, he had no idea, but how they’d end up married and with a kid? That he had no problem with. Even now, after knowing her for less than a year, he was sure that, if given enough time with Lucy Preston, he would have ended up in this exact place.

Not that he could, or should, say that out loud, so he just said: “Exactly.”

“Ok, let’s do it,” Lucy replied, and then she locked up the front door to the house and fussed around it like this was normal, like …this was the life they had together that she was trying to protect.

This didn’t make Wyatt oddly emotional, no. Normal amounts of emotion only.

He led the way up the carpeted stairs, more because he’d just gotten a glimpse of the pictures than because he was really ready to face the reality of the life they’d created together. But that’s where the pictures were, wasn’t it? There were several shots of a smiling, blue eyed kid he’d seen before, but until now he hadn’t realized looked exactly like Lucy.

Except for his eyes. She had his eyes. And his mother’s name.

This was officially more than Wyatt was equipped to handle, he thought, and that was before he caught sight of the wedding shot.

Because he didn’t think he’d ever looked as happy as he looked in that picture. Not when he was a kid, not with Jessica, never. He was looking at Lucy and there was an ocean backdrop and she was wearing a lacy white dress and all he could focus on was the expression on his face.

Like he’d gotten everything he’d ever dreamed of.

And he had, hadn’t he?

Lest he short-circuit, he kept walking up the stairs, up to a hallway with what looked like an office, then a bedroom on the other and two other closed doors.

The purple one was, obviously, Hannah’s. There was a gentle sound coming out of it and what he assumed was a night light made the room glow in a way that he wasn’t sure was normal.

Was he ready to face this? Would he ever be?

“You ready?” Lucy asked, as if she was reading his mind, and it was both a challenge and a plea for support.

He could do nothing but nod. If Lucy needed him to, he’d be ready.

Wyatt had never seem a kid’s room before, had never actually spent any significant time with one, but he was surprised to notice, as he took stock of the room his daughter slept in, that this felt exactly like the kind of room he always thought a child of his would have.

The night light he’d suspected of existing before was projecting stars across the walls of the room, and there were books and toys and model planes on the wall, like the ones his grandpa Sherwin had taught him to love, all strewn across the room in a comfortable, lived in, well ….mess.

And in the bed on the corner, a little lump under the covers, lay a sleeping figure, her face obscured by the exact same black curls that adorned Lucy’s face.

He hadn’t even taken one good look at her. He didn’t know who she resembled. He knew nothing of who she was or what she liked. And yet Wyatt knew one thing instantly, with a certainty that he’d never felt before: he loved her.

Completely. Wholeheartedly. He’d step in front a bullet for her, just as surely as he would for Lucy. He’d never do anything to cause her harm. And he could never, ever, go back to a world where she didn’t exist.

Ever.

“Let’s not wake her up.” Lucy’s words broke him out of his reverie and he stopped for a second to look at this woman, the one that had given the other Wyatt this life, a life he found himself desperately wanting to live. Could he love her the way the other Wyatt had loved the other Lucy?

Didn’t he already?

“I think it’s best that we explore, try to figure some things out tonight, before she wakes up in the morning.” Lucy’s voice interrupted his thoughts as they both made their way out of Hannah’s room. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but parents should know about their kid right?”

“Right.” He said, because the only other option was starting a conversation Lucy was clearly not ready for. One he might not be ready for. “And I’ll check in with Rufus and see how Jiya is.”

She looked frazzled, and yet how could Wyatt blame her? That was their kid back there, an actual human being they’d made together.

“Ok, let me know. I think that office back there was mine.”

“How can you be sure?”

Lucy shrugged. “The books. Even in this timeline my office has stacks of books everywhere.” There was a pause. “What are you going to do?”

“Think I’m going to check downstairs, see what’s down there,” he said, because he needed some time away from her and from what he felt or had felt or maybe, was destined to feel.

He stepped away from the room and headed towards the office, and some kind of idle curiosity made him peer in, snort and then turn to Lucy.

Teasing her was as natural as breaking, in any timeline. “Hannah is definitely your daughter. Kind of looks like her room.”

He could see her shoulders dropping, like tension had flown out her at the joke, and he felt strangely proud that he was still that person, that despite the house and the kid and the uncertainty, she could still feel comfortable around him.

“Very funny. Laugh it up all you want. I can’t be the only influence in her life.”

No, he absolutely did not turn away just the hide the grin that threatened to escape at her words. He was already a couple of steps down the stairs when he looked back at and the sight of her, so put together, even when she wasn’t, so Lucy, made him grin.

“Yes, ma’am.” He added, because of course he did, and he could hear her mutter “Stop calling me ma’am.” as he made his way downstairs.

He was almost to the bottom when he remembered the picture, and he took a few steps back up the stairs and checked that Lucy was inside the office before he allowed himself to examine it more closely.

Nothing had changed. Lucy was still wearing a lacy dress. There was still a big ocean behind them. And he still looked like he was thanking his lucky stars that he got to hold this woman.

Back when he and Jessica had gotten married, they’d been broke and stupid. They’d figured they didn’t need a big ceremony and they could do without the fancy photographer, because the day would be seared into their minds. They’d never forget.

That was a lie, and Wyatt had regretted his practicality every day since Jessica died.

Except Jessica wasn’t here anymore, she’d never married him, and  _ this _ Wyatt clearly had more common sense, clearly wanted to commemorate the moment he married Lucy Preston.

He could find no problem with that.

Not just because she looked beautiful, and she did, there was a glow to her skin and her smile as she looked at him in the picture was soft and private and perfect; but because he looked like he’d won the biggest prize ever.

The ring had been his first indication, his mother’s ring, the one heirloom he had, the one connection to the good parts of his past, but that had been just the start. There was also the picture perfect house, and the kid he never knew he’d always dreamed of, and even the thousand little things that spoke of a shared life, like his sneakers in the corner of the living room and those teas she always drank in the breakfast nook.

But, the picture was the final piece of the puzzle that was his life, and the result was clear and unmistakable: the man that had lived in this house, the one that was him, and yet wasn’t, that man had been even more far gone for Lucy Preston than he was.

He’d never believed in fate, but it was starting to feel increasingly like, no matter where he went, no matter what he went through, no matter who he was, he was always going to end up here.

With her.

The thought hit him so hard that he had to grab the bannister, and he was going down, away from the picture, before he could even comprehend what his body was doing. And then suddenly, he was in the living room, the impeccable living room that lead to an impeccable kitchen that absolutely did not look like anything Wyatt had been involved in decorating.

Hell, he’d say he hadn’t been involved in buying it either, but unless the world had changed a lot, then he was pretty sure this house was not something either of them could afford on their own.

Who was he, in this life? What did he do? What did he love?

The living room had given nothing away, and the kitchen and laundry room were of no help, either. Unless figuring out that his other self really, really seemed to like khakis was considered help, which Wyatt  didn’t.

What was wrong with jeans? He had a kid! They seemed way more practical.

Unsurprisingly, the answer – or as close to one as he’d come – was to be found in the one place Wyatt had always felt at home: in the garage, with a car that he absolutely would have killed to have, back in the day.

It was a 1951 red Cadillac and it looked to be in tip top shape, though there was proof everywhere that it had not always been so. Spare parts littered the floor, and there were tools scattered in a sturdy table in the corner, as well as some sweaty clothes that were clearly male and also clearly not his - Rufus was the only possibility, a couple of car manuals and absolutely, unshakable proof that the other Lucy had loved the other Wyatt, and that the life he never thought he deserved was not just real, it was his.

A card was propped up on the table, and other Wyatt seemed to have taken great care to preserve it in a way that made sure it wouldn’t get stained or dirty. It was encased in two pieces of glass that were clearly not made for that purpose, and at some point an attempt seems to have been made to create some sort of rudimentary frame for it, though the effort was half finished.

Reading it made Wyatt very keenly aware of what he’d walked into, and what he stood to lose.

The piece of paper, white, with a bright red car very much unlike the one that sat in his garage, the one that belonged to him, read, in Lucy’s loopy scrawl:

_ A project for rainy days and lazy afternoons, my love. May it bring back the good memories, and may it remind you of the kind of man you are, despite everything. I love you more than words can express. I’m so glad you’re in my life. _

_ Your wife, _

_ Lucy _

He read it three times before he let himself take a step back, and his legs failed him, as if all the emotions the words had instilled in him had taken physical form and were weighing on his shoulders. The floor was messy and he was wearing khakis because he was apparently a suburban dad, but it didn’t seem like there was any other choice but to lower himself to it and just …breathe.

In, out.

In, out.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Because…this was his life. This was his reality. People who loved him. People who knew him. People who depended on him.

And not just in an abstract way, either. Not like in the army, where he had a team and they trusted him to have their back, no. This was way more personal. This was a woman who’d chosen him, with all his hang-ups, all his issues. Someone who’d decided to make a life with him.

Someone who trusted him, not just with her life, but with her happiness.

How he got there didn’t matter for Wyatt, reality mattered more. He had no problem believing that he’d fall in love with Lucy Preston because half the time he felt like he was already there, madly in love with her, so deep into it that the thought of her not being around robbed him of his breath.

He had no problems coming to terms with the kid, either, the one he’d barely glimpsed and already felt like he would give his life for. Even the house, the one he never knew he wanted, with the car that he clearly seemed to have repaired himself – with some help from Rufus, if all the stuff laying around the garage was to be believed – fit perfectly into his expectations.

It was the feelings that didn’t.

Love he could understand. Friendship, loyalty, those were things Wyatt Logan knew himself capable off, and despite Jessica, he’d never actually fooled himself into thinking he could never feel them again.

But this overwhelming sense of peace? That was not just new, but entirely unexpected.

And so he sat there and breathed out, trying to get used to the lightness, the joy that seemed to be seeping into every pore at the notion that yes, he might have missed the how,  _ but he still got to live this life _ .

He got to fall in love with Lucy again. He got to woo her and see her wake up every morning. He got to hold her in his arms, and he got this one, big, beautiful chance to rebuild what the two people whose lives they’ve stepped into clearly had. He got to be her partner, not just at Mason Industries, but in life.

He got to have a daughter. He got to hold her and teach her things and see her grow into a woman. A little piece of him and Lucy, his best parts, her best parts and he got to see that. It existed, because of him. Because of them.

Wyatt had wanted a great many things in his life. He’d never gotten any of them.

Until now.

And he still wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve it, or if he even did, but he was damn sure he wasn’t going to let them slip through his fingers. He couldn’t.

The doorbell brought him back to reality and there was a definite moment of panic there as he considered all that he didn’t know about this Wyatt’s life and all that could be waiting for him, but Rufus’ loud voice calling out for him reached him before he’d even made it out of the garage and he almost let out a sigh of relief at the thought of seeing his friend.

Because their relationship hadn’t changed, and yet, in a way, in this reality, it must have. 

There were signs of Rufus everywhere in his house, from a box of chocodiles in the counter to a couple of his t-shirts in the garage and even a few manuals that he wouldn’t have thought to buy, because that’s not how you repaired a car the Wyatt Logan way, you just winged it.

Rufus clearly liked instructions, and Rufus had clearly been helping him.

He’d felt for a while that Rufus was more than a friend, that he was becoming closer to a brother. It seemed like, in a way, some things held true no matter what reality you ended up in.

Funny that he opened the door just as this came to his head, and though he’d really just said goodbye to Rufus a few hours ago, he looked at him with different eyes as he stood there, in front of Wyatt’s house.

He was becoming a sap and he’d only been in this life for a few hours. He hadn’t actually met his kid. What was going to happen when he held Hannah in his arms, when he looked into her eyes that looked so much like his?

What was going to happen when everyone else left and he got to see Lucy, all messy hair and pajamas?

Just the thought of it was enough to make his heart stop.

Thankfully, Rufus was there to break him out of it.

“Hey,” he said, with an awkward wave. “So, I’m back. All is well. With  _ me _ , at least.” He squinted as he started at Wyatt, as if he were trying to figure him out. “It doesn’t really look like all is well with you. Is this what parenting is like? That dazed look?”

“Rufus!” Jiya, who he just noticed was standing behind his friend, looking a little pale, but mostly like herself, admonished.

He shrugged, because, well, Rufus wasn’t entirely off base. He did feel like someone had punched him in the gut. Repeatedly.

“You’re not wrong,” is what he finally settled on, before turning to Jiya. “Hey, Jiya. You feeling better?”

Jiya seemed to be sizing him up, or looking through him. Either way, she’d never quite looked at him like she was looking at him now. “Yes, thank you. What about …you? Are you guys okay? Rufus told me all about the …you know?”

Wyatt glared at Rufus, who just glared back. Because that was, of course, still who they were.

“I thought we weren’t telling people. You _ specifically  _ said don’t tell people.”

“It’s not people, it’s  _ just  _ Jiya.” Rufus defended, as he gestured to the house. “Maybe we should go in? Have this conversation where there’s a roof and no neighbors? Though this is a good neighborhood. How did you guys even afford this?”

“You’re asking the guy who doesn’t remember a thing, Rufus.”

Rufus nodded. “Right. That’s exactly why I brought Jiya. One of us has to be the brains of the operation, and that’s clearly me.” He smiled. “You need someone to fill you in on what your life is like, you know, considering the circumstances. Wouldn’t want you to miss your anniversary. Or worse, your kid’s birthday.”

Though Rufus had clearly said it as a joke, Wyatt felt, very intensely, that he really, really didn’t want to miss either of those dates.

“Do you really not remember anything?” Jiya added, as they made their way into the living room, where she kept walking towards a corner and turned on a light Wyatt didn’t even know existed, one that made the room look brighter and homier.

He didn’t even know where the freaking lights were.

In his house.

_ He didn’t know _ .

“Jiya, it’s more than that.” He said, as he gestured to the house around them, to the switch he hadn’t noticed, to the pictures on the wall that desperately wanted to be him but knew weren’t. “This isn’t real to us.”

But Jiya was having none of it. “Newsflash, you have a kid. It’s real. No takebacksies.”

Wyatt smiled, but it was a bittersweet smile. “Tell me about it. Come on, make yourself at home ….it certainly looks like you’ve been here before, right?”

She raised her eyebrows in a look of perfect disbelief. “I probably know more about this place than you at this point. If you need help locating something, I’m your girl!”

Wyatt had a sudden flashback to the other version of him and Lucy on a double date with Rufus and Jiya.

It sounded much more appealing than he ever would have imagined.

“ Where’s Lucy?” Rufus asked, and Wyatt was lost to a daydream. Lucy. Hannah. A quiet morning around the house. He’d be cooking pancakes; because that was one of the few things he could manage without screwing up. Lucy would kiss Hannah’s cheeks and tell her to sit still and wait for Daddy to finish. He’s kiss her little forehead before serving her breakfast.

“Is she …eh, around?” Rufus continued, because of course he wouldn’t be sensitive to a man’s need to just imagine the woman he absolutely wasn’t completely in love with yet and the child he absolutely did not remember making in a perfectly domestic scenario.

A total and complete sap, that’s what he was. But he wasn’t about to admit that out loud.

Not to Rufus, at least.

“I haven’t seen her in a while, and I figured …big house, she could have some space if she wanted.” He shrugged.  “I’ll go look, I guess?”

“Leave that to me.” Jiya said, and Wyatt wanted to shake her. That was his place, after all. He was her husband.

Except he wasn’t. Not really. He had to remember that.

“You two …bond, or whatever it is we do when we’re not around.” Jiya continued, as she made her way back across the living room and up the stairs.

Almost like it was her house, and not his.

“You have beer?” Rufus asked when Jiya was long gone and it was starting to seem weird that Wyatt was just staring at the stairs.

“I really, really hope I haven’t changed so much that the answer to that is no.” Wyatt exhaled, and Rufus laughed and for a brief second, it felt like everything was back to normal as they went off to explore a kitchen neither of them had ever been in.

Except a new normal. One where he wasn’t alone.

He could get used to this, thought Wyatt. He really, really could.

End of Chapter 4.


	5. Conversations (Wyatt's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiya is the one with all the information - and she's ready to share it with Lucy and Wyatt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya and welcome to chapter 5! We have been switching whose POV comes first. Chapter 1 started with Wyatt's. That was followed by Lucy's, and so on. For chapter 5, it's once again Wyatt's turn.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and let us know what you think via review after you finish reading!

Like everything else that had happened in the past few hours, opening the fridge was a surreal experience for Wyatt. There was the brand of beer he favored – thank God he hadn’t become a pretentious bastard – but there were also juice boxes and chocolate milk and Thai takeout that he definitely hadn’t ordered, just another reminder that the life he was living, that life was not his alone.

He had a family. One he didn’t remember.

Still, there were only so many times he could have the same realization, and this time there was only a vague sense of oh yeah as he grabbed two beers and handed one to Rufus. He shrugged as they both leaned on the nearest counter and took a long drag.

“Level with me: how are you?” Rufus asked, because of course he did, and the Wyatt he WAS now and the Wyatt he probably was before both had the same answer.

“Better than I deserve.”

“Uh, okay. That wasn’t the angsty Wyatt answer I was expecting. Did married life change you that much? It’s only been a few hours.”

Laughing didn’t even feel foreign anymore, not in this house. “I don’t know, I just …I never really dreamed of this, but this is the dream, Rufus.”

“Man, that was quick. Are you suddenly in love with Lucy and happy you have a kid? Because that’s fast, even for you.”

“I’m not saying that,” Wyatt tried to fudge, though really, was he saying something different? “I’m just saying …this is hardly a hardship.”

Rufus shook his head. “I’m so disappointed in you. I gave you the perfect opening to admit your huge crush on Lucy, and nothing.”

Wyatt stood up straight, placed his beer on the nearest counter. This suddenly didn’t seem like a lounging conversation. “I don’t have a huge crush on Lucy.”

The look of disbelief on his friend’s face was almost comical. “Look, Wyatt, you’re my bro, okay? I’ve never been the type to, you know, have many friends, but we’re friends. Like, I don’t want to get sappy here, but you’re my best friend. So, as your best friend, let me tell you …that is some bullshit.”

“As my best friend,” Wyatt replied, because as sappy as he was feeling lately, words were still hard, “your job is to let me live in my delusions, isn’t it?”

Rufus’s deadpan face shouldn’t say as much as it did.

“Fine. I might have a little crush on Lucy. Tiny.”

“Whatever, man. Just remember I told you so before you get even more Wyatt after learning all about your perfect little suburban life here.” Oh, how Wyatt wished he could wipe the smug look of Rufus’s face. “Thank God I came back to the same thing.”

“Are you sure about that?” Wyatt asked, because that’s what best friends did.

“Yeah, Jiya was still in the hospital, she’s fine now, we’re still dating, and she hasn’t mentioned anything else. You’re the one in the alternate universe.”

“But, are you sure? So much has changed for us, and everything is the same for you? How long have you been dating Jiya? Are you two living together now? Are there wedding bells in your future? Do I get to be your best man?”

“Ha, ha. You’re funny.”

“What are best friends for?” Wyatt asked, just as he picked up the sounds of Lucy and Jiya coming down the stairs. “Come on, we’re not gonna get any answers by standing around.” He said, as he picked up his beer and moved to the living room.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he walked into the room, because apparently his default mode was worry about Lucy Preston, and Lucy still looked like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And though that was fair, all things, considered, Wyatt was kinda sure there was no bigger shoe than a kid, and they already knew about that.

She gave him a crooked smile, though, and her reply was perfectly Lucy. “Hey, I’m not the one who’s drinking.”

He laughed, and all the sudden, felt this desire to play host, something that he was absolutely sure had never happened before in his entire life. “You want me to get you something to drink? I figured out the fridge.”

Jiya, however, interrupted his attempts at domesticity. “How about you two sit and I’ll go get Lucy and I something to drink, as I’m the only one who actually remembers where the wine is.”

It was hard to argue with that, but that just left him and Lucy to figure out how to occupy a two seater without actually, you know, touching, just as Rufus took the larger couch and raised his eyebrows at him knowingly.

Bastard.

“How you holding up, Lucy?” Rufus asked, and Wyatt was glad he at least had backup in this.

“Like I came back to a life that’s not mine and a kid I don’t remember having. Other than that, pretty good, I guess.”

“Hey, at least you got cool digs. And a hot husband!”

She laughed, but it did not reach her eyes. “At least I’m not married to Noah, or another different complete stranger.”

And though, earlier in the day, he might have said that was better than being chained to him, right now, Wyatt couldn’t imagine – didn’t want to imagine – Lucy having this life with anyone but him.

“Would have made this whole thing much harder to explain, for one.” Rufus added, as Jiya came back into the room with two glasses of wine and deposited one right in front of Lucy.

“Liquid courage,” she joked as she took a small sip of her own wine and settled against Rufus’s side, something that, of course, made Wyatt’s eyebrows rise.

He had a feeling, considering his friend’s expression, that this level of comfort with physical expressions of affection was new.

“So,” Jiya asked, with what looked to be a purposefully bland expression. “Where do you guys want to start?”

He turned to Lucy just as she turned to him, and there was no magical agreement, no sudden click, because when they started talking, they both still seemed like they had no idea how to answer that question.

“Well, we could start with …” he said.

“Maybe we can …” she said.

But no one actually said anything. Score one for team Logan.

“Why don’t we start with Hannah?” Jiya asked, because she was apparently incredibly perceptive, or she knew them much better than Wyatt had known her in their previous life, either was possible.

Both were likely.

“Jumping in with both feet, huh?” Lucy replied, voice so even all of a sudden that Wyatt turned to look at her with something akin to wonder.

Somehow, in the last few seconds, Lucy had flipped a switch. Gone was the hesitant woman from before, gone was the uncertainty. She’d identified a way forward, and she was grabbing onto it with both hands.

Information was, after all, knowledge, especially for someone like Lucy, someone who dealt in facts.

For him, however – it was all about instinct. He’d never been the general, just the soldier. He didn’t have to make the decisions, he just had to get out of the actual mission alive.

“Might as well, right?” Rufus added, because Rufus couldn’t stay quiet, even when participating in a conversation he really had nothing to add to. “She's upstairs and could come down any second.”

Except, you know, concern.

Because he really, really hadn’t even considered the possibility of having to run after a toddler, one who he didn’t know, and one who probably expected him to behave in one particular way. One whose expectations he couldn’t really live up to, because he didn’t have any idea of what he was doing.

Not yet.

Maybe Lucy’s approach was the right one.

“He’s right,” Jiya continued, as if Rufus had actually had a point, and hadn’t been talking just to fill the silence, like Rufus often did. “Hannah has been …adventurous lately.”

That word had never sounded more foreboding. “Meaning?”

Lucy was the one to answer, though, and Wyatt was once again struck by how well she seemed to be taking everything in this conversation, considering how hard the actual reality of their life had hit her.

“Meaning she's been sneaking out of bed, right?”

Even Jiya looked taken aback. “Yeah …how do you know that?”

Lucy looked a bit sheepish. “I used to do it when I was little. A lot, apparently. It was a thing.”

No, he absolutely was not distracted by the mental image of little Lucy sneaking down some stairs that were too high for her. He was not.

“Why did you? I mean …do you remember?”

She smiled at him, like the memory was a good one. “Mom was usually downstairs. I would always get a story or two out of her after Amy went to bed.”

“Lucy Preston,” he said, and then, because he could, he corrected. “I mean, Logan.” He added a wink, for good measure. “Sneaking out of bed and breaking rules at such a young age.”

The smile she directed at him robbed him of his breath.

“And I guess …well, she’s followed in my footsteps, just as I followed in my mother’s.”

He’d heard the expression so many times, but it had never meant as much to him as it did now. Like mother like daughter.

They stayed there, in a little bubble, looking at each other and smiling for what seemed like forever, but could only have been a few seconds, before Rufus did his whole let’s add levity to a charged moment thing.

“God, I can't wait to meet this kid. You two? In one package? Trouble.”

Which, honestly, was probably closer to the truth than Wyatt wanted to admit. He’d been anything but a quiet child, and Lucy was apparently prone to sneaking around, even as toddler.

The thought was so scary that he took the Rufus way and filled the silence with words. “What else? About Hannah, I mean.”

Jiya seemed to think it over. “She likes grilled cheese for breakfast. You usually make it, Lucy. Yeah, I know, cooking is not your thing, but anyone can manage grilled cheese, I promise.” She said, almost like anticipating Lucy. “And then Wyatt comes in and cuts it into triangles because, apparently, it's the best way to eat them.”

Wyatt had to wholeheartedly agree. “It is. Everyone knows this.”

Their friend continued talking, almost like she’d heard his asseveration many times before. “She’s …allergic to nuts. That’s important.”

His heart contracted painfully for a second. Allergic to nuts.

That was serious. That was …the kind of serious that could kill you. And, if it hadn’t been for Jiya, they would have never known. Maybe tomorrow, or in a week, one of them would have inadvertently fed her something that contained nuts and that …would be it.

All because they hadn’t known.

Lucy seemed to be reading his mind, or maybe part of being a parent was this constant state of worrying – either way, she asked the question he most wanted answered.

“Has she ever had...did she ever end up going to the hospital for it?”

“No, no,” Jiya was quick to assure them. “But it’s still something you should know. Honestly, she’s a happy, bright child who spends her day ruling the house, reading in Lucy's office or in the garage with you, Wyatt.”

“In the garage?” he asked, and his chest felt so tight it was almost had an elephant had sat down on it.

“Yeah, she loves it. She pretends to help you and Rufus out as you fix the car. I’m not sure she’s ever been much help, but she likes spending time with you.”

He’d loved to help his father too. He’d sit in the garage for hours, listening, paying attention to his every move. He’d never say anything, because his father didn’t like noise, or his presence, but at least when they were in the garage, he wasn’t yelling.

At least when they were in the garage, Wyatt could fool himself into thinking his father actually cared.

Jiya’s voice reached him from somewhere very, very far. “You don't let her touch anything besides the tools you lay out next to her, but that’s all she needs. She can spend the entire day as your shadow as you fix the car.”

He had a daughter.

Logically, he’d know he had one before. He’d even caught a glimpse of her, when they went up to her room. But he’d been so caught up in what this meant for him and Lucy, in what he felt for her, that Hannah had been almost an afterthought. A pleasant one, yes, but just …a consequence of his feelings for Lucy, not a real, breathing person who …loved to spend time with him.

Who loved him.

Either Jiya saw how close he was to tears, or he got lucky, because she turned to Lucy then, and added, “Same thing goes for you, Lucy. She can’t have enough of both her parents. It's probably why you found those toys in your office.”

“Toys?” he asked, in what he desperately hoped was a normal voice.

“Yeah, toys. I found them under my desk, in a drawer, and even behind my desk. I guess she spends a lot of time in my office.”

Jiya nodded. “Other than the missions, you’ve both tried to make sure one of you is always here for her. You adore her.”

There was a pause for effect, or something, not that Wyatt needed one. He’d known how he felt about the kid since he first walked into her room, before he’d even laid eyes on her sleeping form.

“Also, you guys have been playing hide and seek lately. And she's gotten really good at it. Like really good. So if you can't find her, don't panic.”

Why would anyone teach a toddler how to hide that well?

Lucy, always the logical one, interrupted his thoughts.

“What’s the safe word?”

Safe word. Yes. Because kids had those. Smart.

“Bet it's something ridiculous like ma’am,” Rufus interrupted with a laugh, and he’d never wanted to throw something at his friend as bad as he wanted to now, especially when Jiya turned to him in shock.

“How did you know?”

For the first time since he’d walked into this house, Wyatt felt really disappointed in the other version of himself. Rufus, however, was delighted.

“I’m right? I can’t believe I’m right. I mean, I can believe I’m right, because I am that smart, but it’s just so hilarious that I’m right. Don’t you think it’s hilarious, Wyatt? Don’t you?”

Jiya looked confused. “What am I missing here? It was your idea, Rufus.”

At least he and Lucy were in agreement about this, because they both groaned at exactly the same time.

“Rufus!”

But Rufus was not having it.

“Hey, that wasn’t me. It was the other me. The me from before. The one that remembered. So, technically, not me. You can’t blame me for what other me did. That’s not how it works.”

“Still you, Rufus.” Lucy was glaring at him, which made Wyatt feel so much better about himself.

“Why don't we get back to the topic on hand?” Rufus turned back to Jiya with a smile that was twice as big as normal. “Like the kid. That's much more interesting.”

Yeah, still in agreement, as Lucy threw him the exact same glare he did.

This whole marriage thing was actually going to be pretty fun if they managed to agree about everything.

“Right. Hmmm...what else...do you guys have any specific questions about her?” Jiya asked, and Wyatt felt like there was no way to ask all he wanted, so he asked the one thing he wanted to make sure he didn’t mess up.

Or, the first thing he wanted to make sure he didn’t mess up. He had a list. It pretty much included all the things he hadn’t gotten as a child.

“When's her birthday?”

“April 28th.” Jiya replied. “Just passed,” she added, as if she wasn’t sure they knew what day it was. “You guys had a huge party.”

Lucy raised her eyebrows in a pretty noticeable way. “Really?”

Jiya laughed. “Kidding, it was small. Just us. Your mom. Oh and Amy, and Agent Christopher and her family too.”

A birthday party. With people, and presents and probably a cake with tiny colored candles she could blow on and make a wish.

Wyatt had never had one of those as a child.

But he was not his father. He could never be. And Hannah …she would never want for anything, much less love and affection. He would make sure of it.

“And friends. Does she have any?” he asked, though he wasn’t sure a kid this young would actually have friends.

“Not really. She likes Agent Chrisphers kids but she's in a real big mommy and pops phase. It’s a thing.”

Pops.

Being someone’s father was one thing, but being someone’s pops?

That’s what he used to call his grandfather.

“Mommy and pops? Is that what she calls us?” Lucy was getting good at interjecting when Wyatt felt like his emotions were going to get the better of him.

“Yeah.” Jiya laughed a bit, and you could see in her face how much she cared about Hannah, how close they all were. “She pops her p's when she says pops. It's adorable and Wyatt gives in. All. The. Time.”

That was the least shocking thing Wyatt had ever heard in his entire life.

“She's got you wrapped around her finger, Wyatt,” Rufus laughed, but Jiya intervened before he could even think of a proper response.

“Like you’ve got any room to talk. You spoil that child rotten! I’m pretty sure your responsibilities as godfather don’t include buying her whatever she wants all the time, nor do they include letting her have her way, even when her parents already said no.”

But Rufus seemed to have only processed one thing that Jiya said.

“I’m …her godfather.”

Wyatt didn’t know this reality, couldn’t guess what had their alternate selves had thought, or why they’d chosen Rufus, but there was only one thing he could say, and he’d never been more sure about anything in his entire life.

“Who else?”

Lucy was nodding next to him, and there was a quiet moment of understanding between the three of them that felt more familiar than anything else in this new life they’d walked into.

His brain, of course, had to interrupt by sending a signal to his mouth to ask the most uncomfortable thing possible. “What about us? What are we like? Around the house? Around her?”

“Around each other,” Lucy added, and he was thankful, because that had been what he really wanted to ask.

“Going in with both feet?” he asked, and she shrugged. They had to know, and Jiya was about the only one they could ask.

It was impossible to ‘figure out’ what they didn’t understand, after all.

Lucy nodded. “Both feet,” and then turned to Jiya. “I know you don’t have ….or if you have, I’m frankly not ready for intimate details, or anything of the sort. But I’d like to know how we are around Hannah. If we at least know that, then we can …I don't know...work on not giving away that we're not her parents.”

He had to say it. He absolutely could not keep it in. “Technically.”

Just as he had to say it, he was sure Lucy had to give him the look she did. That was just who they were.

“Yes, technically.”

Jiya winced. “I know this is awkward AF, but to be honest, you guys are sort of …adorable. The times we’ve stayed overnight you’ve all done breakfast together in the morning, like real family breakfast, no phones, no distractions. Just catching up before the next mission.”

“That sounds nice, though not exactly adorable.” There was a question there, even if Lucy didn’t phrase it as such.

“Yeah, look, I’m not saying you two are into PDA or anything, but you are always …you know, touching. Holding hands. Giving each other these intense looks, you know. You’re kind of like …the standard, you know? That couple.”

The answer was obvious, but he still needed to hear it.

“We’re happy?”

Jiya looked like she wanted to say many things, but she just nodded.

“So what you’re saying is that they’re sappy, right?” Bless Rufus for trying to break the awkward silence.

“No, Rufus,” Jiya chided him. “They’re just in love. Well, they were. Were in love.”

The past tense touched a nerve. He wasn’t the Wyatt who belonged in this house, was clearly not the man who married that Lucy from the picture, but he didn’t think that meant he couldn’t be.

He didn’t think he cared any less than that Wyatt did.

And it didn’t even scare him.

“Okay, that …awkwardness aside, I know it's getting late but...what else? We don't want to freak her out and think that something is wrong. Because trust me, kids can tell these things.”

Lucy’s hand grasped his forearm in a thank you for changing the subject, and though he couldn’t turn to her without being obvious, her smirked a little and hoped she understood what he meant.

They were a team.

“Honestly, my biggest advice is to be patient. You listen to her, even when you don't understand what she's saying, you listen. She’s a kid, she’ll adjust.” Jiya was trying to look encouraging, and mostly failing. “If you guys want, we can stay the night?”

That, however, was helpful.

“So, then I guess we can wrap things till tomorrow? The craziness isn’t about to end, and Jiya, you just got out of the hospital. You need rest.” Rufus sounded, surprisingly, like the voice of reason.

Lucy nodded next to him and let go of his arm. “Yeah, it's late. And we just...need to rest before facing the day.”

“I’ll take the couch.” He nodded as they all awkwardly got up and looked at each other, and he said nothing else, because this conversation was just for him and Lucy.

“You don't have to, Wyatt.” Lucy tried to assure him, and she was standing close again, and it was doing things to his brain and other non-brain related body parts, so he coughed and tried to plaster on a smile and communicate with her.

Later. When we’re alone.

“It's fine.” He smiled at her, because he wasn’t mad, and he wasn’t apprehensive. He needed her to know that.

He just wanted to do things right.

“Things are awkward enough as it is,” he continued. “Take the bed. We'll figure this out in the morning.”

“Come on Lucy,” Jiya urged her. “I'll show you the room you share with...I mean, your room.”

Yeah, this was never going to not be awkward.

But Lucy, sensible Lucy, was still around. “Ok. What about bedding, Wyatt?”

“I can bring some back down? I mean, as long as Jiya knows where it is?” Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, Rufus actually had good timing.

“Yeah, we’ll take care of it. You go rest, Lucy.” Jiya said, as she grabbed Rufus’ arm and led him towards the stairs.

But Wyatt wasn’t looking at him, no. Wyatt only had eyes for Lucy, the same Lucy who was retreating, yes, but slowly, carefully, and making sure she still had her eyes on him.

“Goodnight,” she mouthed, when she reached the foot of the stairs, and it felt like so much more than what it was.

It felt like a promise.

“Goodnight,” he muttered back, and her smile was in the forefront of his mind as he took off the shoes, as he accepted the blanket and pillows from Rufus, as he tried to find a semi comfortable position on the couch.

It was still at the forefront of his minds when he opened his eyes a few hours later to find a tiny little angel who looked like a miniature version of Lucy, except with his eyes shining back at him, sitting comfortably on top of his chest and poking him gently in the face, while asking:

“Pops naughty? Why you couch?”

Life was about to get much more chaotic for Wyatt Logan. And as he stared at that little face that made his heart contract in his chest, he found that he did not care one bit.


	6. Conversations (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With every revelation Lucy realizes Hannah and her are more similar than initially thought. 
> 
> This is Chpt. 5 and the conversation that happened from Lucy's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient with us. I (Lyra) was away at queer camp (yes, that's real) and barely had signal. But I'm back and we're ready for Chapter 6, written by Lyra. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and let Lizzie and I know what you think via review after you finish reading!

Lucy and Jiya had just walked into the room when Wyatt and Rufus did.

“Everything okay?” Wyatt asked. He had a beer in hand and was standing next to Rufus.

A smile tugged at her lips and she refused to let the strangeness of this all get to her. “Hey, I’m not the one who’s drinking.”

He tipped his bottle towards her, “You want me to get you something to drink? I figured out the fridge.”

Standing here, together, and with him offering her a drink felt oddly domestic.

Jiya had other plans. Laying a hand on Lucy’s forearm she interrupted, “How about you two sit and I’ll go get Lucy and I something to drink, as I’m the only one who actually remembers where the wine is.”

Lucy nodded and turned to the larger couch. Rufus had flung himself on it, trying to look nonchalant and not like he’d chosen that spot on purpose. The small glance he stole at the smaller two seater gave him away.

She narrowed her eyes at him and he grinned at her, eyebrows lifting up. He was enjoying this situation that she and Wyatt had found themselves in a little too much. A small part of her hoped that things had grown and changed between Jiya and him so he could experience the awkwardness like Wyatt and her were. Emphasis on a small part of her.

“How you holding up, Lucy?” Rufus asked.

Wyatt stepped back and let her decide where she was going to sit on the two seater. She didn’t opt for the middle like Rufus did, or cling to the side of the sofa like a small nervous part of her wanted to. That last one would only make Rufus enjoy this even more. She just plopped herself down on one of the seats. 

Lucy knew she’d made the right decision when the tension bled from Wyatt’s shoulders and he sat next to her. 

“Like I came back to a life that’s not mine and a kid I don’t remember having. Other than that, pretty good, I guess,” Lucy answered. She was surprised by the honesty behind her words. Yes, this was all fucked up. And yes, she didn’t ask for this. But she’d try for the Lucy whose life this belonged to and that she’d inherited.

“Hey, at least you got cool digs. And a hot husband!” Rufus continued and Lucy was this close to face palming. 

Instead, she laughed, “At least I’m not married to Noah, or another different complete stranger.” She knew almost immediately that it wasn’t entirely convincing and that she’d have to work at at least putting up a good front in front of her friends. It’s not that she didn’t trust her friends or that she could be honest with them. It’s just that...that’s what Lucy Preston had always done when faced with something new and scary. She put up a front, collected information, and went from there.

It’d worked so far in her life. But a kid, she knew that it wouldn’t work forever. Especially with how perceptive she knew they were.

“Would have made this whole thing much harder to explain, for one.” Rufus added, as Jiya came back into the room with two glasses of wine and deposited one right in front of Lucy.

“Liquid courage,” Jiya joked as she took a sip of her own wine and settled against Rufus’s side. By the slightly startled look on Rufus's face this was new behavior.

Lucy hid a grin behind her glass. 

“So,” Jiya asked, setting her glass down and looking between them. “Where do you guys want to start?”

She turned to Wyatt, at a loss where to start. There was so much to talk about and cover here.

“Well, we could start with…” he said.

“Maybe we can…” she said.

Jiya saved from just staring at each other, waiting for the other one to take the first step. “Why don’t we start with Hannah?” 

“Jumping in with both feet, huh?” Lucy replied, voice so even all of a sudden that Wyatt turned to look at her with something akin to wonder.

She had the sudden urge to grab his hand and hold it like he did in the car, a way to ground herself. But she couldn’t, not surrounded by friends, and certainly not when Wyatt was looking at her with that grin; the one she secretly thought was becoming hers. But facts, those would ground her. They always had and at this point why not jump in with both feet and get as many as she could?

“Might as well, right?” Rufus added, “She's upstairs and could come down any second.”

Upstairs, wrapped up in blankets, in a room that told the story of a whirlwind of a child, slept Hannah. And the more information she could gather on the child, the more prepared she could be.

“He’s right,” Jiya continued, sipping her wine and laying back a little closer to Rufus. “Hannah has been …adventurous lately.”

Wyatt asked, “Meaning?”

“Meaning she's been sneaking out of bed, right?” Lucy asked without hesitation. She didn’t know how she knew but she did. When she was young, it had become a time honored tradition to seek out her mom when everyone went to sleep, and by everyone she meant Amy.

She loved her sister, always has and always will, but she was a kid trying to figure herself out while growing up with a sister that was the complete opposite of her. Having her own little reading space under her blanket with her bookshelf helped a lot. But these tiny little moments with her mother...she kept them close to her heart and hadn’t spoken about them with anyone. Even Amy.

Everyone in the room, including Jiya, looked taken aback. “Yeah …how do you know that?”

Lucy played with the end of her skirt before hesitantly answering, “I used to do it when I was little. A lot, apparently. It was a thing.”

It was like clockwork, this ‘Lucy escaping from her room.’ Her mom would leave Lucy, blankets tucked up to her ears like she was used to and how she liked because every kid knew that monsters couldn’t get past blankets, especially if you were covered up head to toe. The moon night light helped too in keeping the monsters away. 

She would try to go to sleep. Try being closing her eyes and listening attentively for her mother to tuck Amy in and head downstairs. When she heard the radio turn on she knew it was safe to make her escape. She’d toss all the blankets off of her and jump off the bed, making sure that she got some distance between herself and whatever boogieman that was hiding under her bed and it’s reaching arms.

Wyatt turned his body slightly towards her and asked, “Why did you? I mean…do you remember?”

Lucy smiled at him, following his example and turning to him as well. She hadn’t shared this with anyone. Not even Amy. But maybe she could with these people, especially if it was something her kid was doing as well. Her kid. “Mom was usually downstairs. I would always get a story or two out of her after Amy went to bed.”

“Lucy Preston,” Wyatt said, the most beautiful grin spreading across his face. If it were possible she’d swear that her heart skipped a beat. He made it worse by correcting himself and adding, “I mean, Logan. Sneaking out of bed and breaking rules at such a young age.”

He winked at her.

Wyatt Logan, her husband, the father of her child, and the man that she’d most definitely thought of a future with (a tiny part of her really) just winked at her. He’d done it before and she had no doubt in her mind that he’d do it again, but damn, combined with a wink he was absolutely beautiful. 

She’d have to unpack all of this, and the rest this crazy day, when she got a second to herself.

Lucy returned his smile, “And I guess …well, she’s followed in my footsteps, just as I followed in my mother’s.”

Like mother, like daughter.

She wondered if she read the same books with Hannah, if her pajamas had planes instead of dinosaurs like she’d worn when little, and if they snuggled on the couch, back to chest with a book on her lap, like Lucy used to do practically every night.

Lucy didn’t think she’d ever be in a position to experience this and she couldn’t wait to find out what similarities they shared no matter how scared, excited, and overwhelmed her insides felt in alternating moments.

Rufus being Rufus, pulled them out of their little bubble by saying,  “God, I can't wait  to meet this kid. You two? In one package? Trouble.”

If Hannah got her penchant for sneaking out of bed from Lucy then she wondered what things she’d gotten from him. 

“What else? About Hannah, I mean.” Wyatt asked, obviously trying to fill the silence. Lucy latched onto this question and distracted herself from the thought of a small Wyatt and Lucy. Would they have been friends? Would they have gotten into trouble together? She had a feeling that young Wyatt was just as much a trouble maker as she was.

Jiya seemed to think it over. “She likes grilled cheese for breakfast. You usually make it, Lucy. Yeah, I know, cooking is not your thing, but anyone can manage grilled cheese, I promise.” She said, almost like anticipating Lucy. “And then Wyatt comes in and cuts it into triangles because, apparently, it's the best way to eat them.”

Wyatt answered and Lucy nodded along. “It is. Everyone knows this.” Anyone who didn’t eat grilled cheese sandwiches in triangles was missing out big time.

Their friend continued talking, almost like she’d had this conversation too many times to count. “She’s …allergic to nuts. That’s important.”

She stiffened in her seat, knowing how bad an allergic reaction could be after seeing a kid in 4th grade eat a peanut butter cup even though he was allergic because he wanted to see what the fuss was about. He’d loved it but his face certainly hadn’t since he blew up like a balloon. 

The thought of Hannah having a reaction...it didn’t sit well with her at all. And by Wyatt’s ramrod straight body he was feeling the same way too. She took this information and filed it away in her mind, before leaning forward and diving in, ready to know everything about this child as a means of protecting her. Again, it’s what she owed the Lucy that gave birth to this child, that raised this child, that loved this child.

“Has she ever had...did she ever end up going to the hospital for it?”

“No, no,” Jiya was quick to assure them. “But it’s still something you should know. Honestly, she’s a happy, bright child who spends her day ruling the house, reading in Lucy's office or in the garage with you, Wyatt.”

“In the garage?” Wyatt asked, voice obviously strained. She didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with his father but she knew it was bad enough that he never talked about it and the thought of having that bond with Hannah brightened his day in a way she’d never seen.

“Yeah, she loves it. She pretends to help you and Rufus out as you fix the car. I’m not sure she’s ever been much help, but she likes spending time with you,” Jiya explained before continuing, Wyatt obviously hanging off every word, “You don't let her touch anything besides the tools you lay out next to her, but that’s all she needs. She can spend the entire day as your shadow as you fix the car.”

Did Lucy come in and hang out with them, pointing out which tools Wyatt needed? Did she bring them food, those grilled cheese sandwiches that Hannah loved? Did she watch them from the doorway, letting them enjoy their time together?

“Same thing goes for you, Lucy,” Jiya said, snapping her out of her thoughts, “She can’t have enough of both her parents. It's probably why you found those toys in your office.”

“Toys?” Wyatt asked. He was leaning forward just like her, taking in all the information he could about Hannah. When she turned to him, she noticed how close they were and how she could see every emotion flickering across his face: surprise, confusion, and most surprisingly, want. She wondered if he could see the same thing on her face, cuz she sure as hell felt it.

She took a long drag from her glass before answering, “Yeah, toys. I found them under my desk, in a drawer, and even behind my desk. I guess she spends a lot of time in my office.”

Jiya nodded. “Other than the missions, you’ve both tried to make sure one of you is always here for her. You adore her.” She paused and looked between Lucy and Wyatt as if preparing them for something bigger than Hannah being allergic to peanuts and loving to spend time with Wyatt, her dad.

Lucy mulled over the words for a second in her mind. 

_ Wyatt was Hannah’s dad.  _

_ She was Hannah’s mom. _

Jiya finally dropped what she’d been hesitant about, “Also, you guys have been playing hide and seek lately. And she's gotten really good at it. Like really good. So if you can't find her, don't panic.”

Lucy sighed and relaxed back into her chair. This she could handle. This she could figure out. Because she used to do the same thing. It had started out innocently. She’d learned from the kids at school. And while they loved being found and running around, Lucy used it as a means of being left alone so she could read. It scared her teachers, it scared her mom, it scared her babysitters. 

So they came up with a compromise. They had a safe word. So when play time was over and she had to come in from the playground, when it was time for dinner, or when she had to take a bath (the most dreaded of things for a kid) they would use the safe word. And out she would pop, a little bothered that she had to stop reading but glad she hadn’t scared anyone into an epic panic like the one of Ms. Barbieri’s 3rd grade class.

“What’s the safe word?”

“Bet it's something ridiculous like ma’am,” Rufus interrupted with a laugh. 

This time, Wyatt was the one who looked like he wanted to facepalm himself, because they all knew that it was a perfect safe word.

“How did you know?” Jiya asked.

Rufus let out a delighted laugh, “I’m right? I can’t believe I’m right. I mean, I can believe I’m right, because I am that smart, but it’s just so hilarious that I’m right. Don’t you think it’s hilarious, Wyatt? Don’t you?”

Jiya looked confused. “What am I missing here? It was your idea, Rufus.”

Lucy and Wyatt groaned, both shouting, “Rufus!”

‘Ma’am.’ The name or endearment or whatever you wanted to call it, had...done things to her. At first it made her angry. She wasn’t anyone’s ‘ma’am.’ She was a teacher, a professor, a historian. Not ‘ma’am.’ Then things changed. Then she started traveling through time with Wyatt and Rufus. Now it made her feel happy and safe and like she was receiving a compliment from someone she cared about. And to think that Hannah’s safe word was the same word...it felt right.

“Hey, that wasn’t me. It was the other me. The me from before. The one that remembered. So, technically, not me. You can’t blame me for what other me did. That’s not how it works.”

“Still you, Rufus.” Lucy said, brow furrowing. 

“Why don't we get back to the topic on hand?” Rufus turned back to Jiya with a smile that was twice as big as normal. “Like the kid. That's much more interesting.”

Wyatt let out a little huff and caught Lucy’s eyes. She didn’t know what was coming next, but at least she knew that Wyatt agreed with her that Rufus was enjoying himself wayyyyy too much. 

“Right. Hmmm...what else...do you guys have any specific questions about her?” Jiya asked, and Lucy didn’t hesitate to jump right in. They needed to at least know the basics, and that went beyond grilled cheese sandwiches and hide and go seek.

“When's her birthday?”

“April 28th.” Jiya replied. “Just passed,” she added, widening her hands to show the enormity of her words, “You guys had a huge party.”

Lucy raised her eyebrows. “Really?” From the little she knew, and she didn’t want to jump to conclusions here because she didn’t really know Hannah, she didn’t seem like the person to want to go big. She was like Lucy. Small and comfortable, a couple of her loved ones there, would be more her style. Right?

Jiya laughed. “Kidding, it was small. Just us. Your mom. Oh and Amy, and Agent Christopher and her family too.”

She was right. 

Lucy had only needed her mom, Amy, and a cake to celebrate her birthday. Those that mattered were there instead of a huge party with people she didn’t really care about. There was no faking it with her family. And with Hannah...there probably wasn’t any faking it either. 

She could imagine a little cake, a kid with hands covered in frosting, gentle kisses against her cheek, a mother’s touch cleaning her hands before presents. Except it wasn’t her her mother cleaning Lucy’s hands. It was Lucy cleaning Hannah’s hands.

The picture her mind formed almost made her miss Wyatt’s next question.

“And friends. Does she have any?”

“Not really. She likes Agent Chrisphers kids but she's in a real big mommy and pops phase. It’s a thing.”

Mommy.

“Mommy and pops? Is that what she calls us?” Her mom used to call Lucy’s grandmother that when she was little. Lucy herself had just used mom and couldn’t even wrap her mind around someone calling her that despite knowing that they asking questions to take care of said child.

Mommy.

And Wyatt, this conversation was breaking him or building him up, she wasn’t sure. His face kept shifting between shocked, excited, and like he was being gifted something precious. She wondered how his relationship with his father had gone and the differences between the one he had with Hannah. If the way his eyes lit up when Jiya talked about working together in the garage were any indication, he loved that they shared something from his past.

One day she’d ask him about it. Or better yet. She’d wait. It was always better when you waited for someone to open up to you and feel comfortable enough to start talking about something. It’d always been like that between them and she didn’t want to change that anytime soon.

“Yeah.” Jiya laughed a bit, excited to be talking about Hannah, someone she clearly loved, “She pops her p's when she says pops. It's adorable and Wyatt gives in. All. The. Time.”

“She's got you wrapped around her finger, Wyatt,” Rufus laughed, but Jiya intervened before anyone else could get anything in.

“Like you’ve got any room to talk. You spoil that child rotten! I’m pretty sure your responsibilities as godfather don’t include buying her whatever she wants all the time, nor do they include letting her have her way, even when her parents already said no.”

Rufus’ mouth dropped open and he looked around at all of them, “I’m …her godfather.”

“Who else?”

Wyatt took the words right out of her mouth. There was no one else they’d trust enough, no matter what version of them was around, with Hannah. Even without meeting her they all knew that.

“What about us? What are we like? Around the house? Around her?”

“Around each other,” Lucy added. She had expected the question to pop up and was thankful that he was the one to bring it up. For Hannah, they had to know this too. 

“Going in with both feet?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

Lucy nodded. “Both feet,” and then turned to Jiya. “I know you don’t have ….or if you have, I’m frankly not ready for intimate details, or anything of the sort. But I’d like to know how we are around Hannah. If we at least know that, then we can …I don't know...work on not giving away that we're not her parents.”

“Technically.”

A pregnant pause later she answered, “Yes, technically.”

Technically they weren’t her parents. She’d never held Hannah or carried her inside her boyd. She’d never kissed her goodnight, took care of her boo boos, or celebrated her first steps. But technically they still were her parents. She remembered them, their faces, and depended on them to keep her happy and healthy. And again, for the Lucy whose life she’d dropped into, she’d take care of Hannah and accept the technicality.

Jiya winced. “I know this is awkward AF, but to be honest, you guys are sort of …adorable. The times we’ve stayed overnight you’ve all done breakfast together in the morning, like real family breakfast, no phones, no distractions. Just catching up before the next mission.”

“That sounds nice, though not exactly adorable.” No one had called her adorable. Not even close to adorable. And now she was adorable with Wyatt.

“Yeah, look, I’m not saying you two are into PDA or anything, but you are always …you know, touching. Holding hands. Giving each other these intense looks, you know. You’re kind of like …the standard, you know? That couple.”

She’d never been a PDA person either. Hugs, of course. Who didn’t love a good hug, especially after whatever crazy mission they’d been on. But holding hands and intense looks? The first one she wasn’t really big on. She’d always enjoyed her space. But the latter, there was no denying that Wyatt and herself had shared those charged moments where they both saw that they were on the cusp of something grand. 

Also, they were the standard couple? “That couple?”

“We’re happy?” Wyatt asked. She could hear the hesitation in his voice, the wonder, as if hoping. 

Jiya set her empty glass down, took a moment as if restraining herself, and nodded; leaning back into Rufus’ side, who shuffled a little to get comfortable with the new proximity between them.

“So what you’re saying is that they’re sappy, right?” Rufus asked, no doubt trying to distract himself and the rest of the room from the new and uncomfortable they found themselves in.

“No, Rufus,” Jiya chided him. “They’re just in love. Well, they were. Were in love.”

The present tense scared her. The past tense scared her. Just being in love scared her. But she kept pushing forward. Like all the forms she filled to get to Amy, she wanted to push through these questions to have a moment to herself once more. This time she could decompress. Well, as much as she could in a room she shared with Wyatt and a bed that they shared, slept in, and...did other things...

“Okay, that …awkwardness aside, I know it's getting late but...what else? We don't want to freak her out and think that something is wrong. Because trust me, kids can tell these things.”

Lucy’s hand grasped his forearm in a thank you for changing the subject.

“Honestly, my biggest advice is to be patient. You listen to her, even when you don't understand what she's saying, you listen. She’s a kid, she’ll adjust.” Jiya was trying to look encouraging, and mostly failing. “If you guys want, we can stay the night?”

Lucy’s mind latched onto the idea. It was perfect and she wouldn’t deny that begging might be involved if they decided not to stay. She trusted both of them as much as she trusted Wyatt and the more support they had, the better. 

“So, then I guess we can wrap things till tomorrow? The craziness isn’t about to end, and Jiya, you just got out of the hospital. You need rest.” Rufus inquired, always the voice of reason. Also, he looked tired. One glance at his face and she knew that it was probably reflected in hers as well. 

They’d all had a long day.

Lucy nodded and pulled away from Wyatt, “Yeah, it's late. And we just...need to rest before facing the day.”

They all got up, awkwardly standing there for beat before Wyatt blurted out, “I’ll take the couch.” 

Lucy turned to him and shook her head. They were standing close. The proximity between them somehow changed when they were standing this close to each other. When they were sitting, they were facing Jiya and Rufus and could easily turn away. Standing like this, they were really close and facing one another with no way of hiding from the other’s inquiring gaze.

“You don't have to, Wyatt.” Lucy tried to assure him, eyes flickering across his face, as to not get lost in his eyes, or on his lips. Now wasn’t the time.

“It's fine.” He smiled at her and she could tell that he was doing the right thing like always. He was giving her space to get her head together, to look things over, to relax, before they had to dive into everything tomorrow morning. The fact that he knew that about her made her apprehension at letting him sleep on the couch, drain away.

“Things are awkward enough as it is,” he continued. “Take the bed. We'll figure this out in the morning.”

“Come on Lucy,” Jiya urged her. “I'll show you the room you share with...I mean, your room.”

“Ok. What about bedding, Wyatt?” Lucy asked, gesturing towards the couch. It looked comfortable and something that she would definitely buy, but she wasn’t just going to leave him there with nothing

“I can bring some back down? I mean, as long as Jiya knows where it is?” Rufus interjected, for once feeling like he was being helpful in all of this instead of finding great joy in all of this.

“Yeah, we’ll take care of it. You go rest, Lucy.” Jiya said, as she grabbed Rufus’ arm and led him towards the stairs.

Lucy knew she was meant to walk right after Jiya and Rufus but something made her turn to Wyatt, steps slow and sure as she backed out of the room. There lives had changed in mind boggling ways and tomorrow life would get more chaotic for Lucy Preston.

“Goodnight,” she mouthed.

But with Wyatt...

“Goodnight,” he muttered back.

...she was sure it would be ok.

 


	7. So It Begins (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy wakes up in her new room with a new home, husband, and kid. Fluff ensues and Uncle Rufus is loved BIG TIME!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyra wrote this chapter and Lizzie will do the next one. Remember, we're doing alternating views with Lyra doing Lucy and Lizzie doing Wyatt. Thank you for reading! More Hannah coming your way next week! <3

She wakes up with a start, mind still foggy from sleep, body not used to the soft and comfortable sheets around her, and eyes scanning the room as if looking for something out of place or out of the ordinary.

When she finally gained her bearings, feet swinging off the bed, landing on the floor, and head between her legs while taking a deep breath, she knew two things. One: everything was out of place. And two: none of this was ordinary.

Lucy was home and not at the same time.

Still not ready to take in the room and the small touches that screamed Lucy and Wyatt, she groaned and stumbled to the bathroom, sure in herself that she probably looked like an extra from The Walking Dead.

Her reflection confirmed it.

She'd had the strangest of dreams that kept her tossing and turning all night. Lucy couldn't even remember them properly but she got this feeling, this impression, that they were memories. But they were things she'd never done in places she'd never been to. And the more she thought about it the more the dreams slipped away from her.

Hands on the counter, she avoided her reflection and looked around the room. It wasn't what she expected. At her mother's house the bathrooms were sleek and classic, dark and something you'd find in a magazIne.

This room, well, it felt loved, if that was even possible. There was a window that let all the sunshine in without the possibility of a pesky voyeur. And right in front of it sat a tub with the shower right across from it. Out of all this homeyness that hit her, what really caught her attention and made her feel like this was a place meant for more than showering, taking a bath, or whatever couples did on their downtime when alone & together in a bathroom, was the chair that was sitting next to the tub. It wasn't meant to be there, smack dab in the middle between the tub and the shower. But there it sat.

It took her longer than expected to come to the conclusion that someone would sit there. Was it Wyatt who sat there while she took a long bath? Or did she sit there and spend time with Wyatt while he was relaxing in a long bubble bath? Did she stay sitting there for long? Did he?

The possibilities were endless and she let her train of thought stop right there from the possibility of what else they could be doing in that bathtub, when she saw the small toy tucked underneath the chair.

It had to be Hannah. She had invaded, or been welcomed by the previous Lucy, into her life and every single facet in it. The bathroom was no different. She could just imagine little Hannah sitting there, legs swinging and smile bright, babbling on to Lucy or Wyatt about her day.

She hadn't even met the kid yet and this thought filled her chest with warm that she had never felt. This wasn't just a roof, four walls, and people living inside of it. Well, technically it was that but it was so much more. It was a home where they weren't afraid to allow themselves to be completely open and themselves. The chair told her that, the toys and her office told her that, and the time that Hannah spent huddled near Wyatt in the garage trying to help him out also told her that.

Lucy went through the motions and undressed, showered, and got ready to face the day. She knew that she was taking things slow. A part of her was scared, who wouldn't be. And the other part of her, the part that was scared, kind of couldn't wait to meet Hannah and see what kind of child she turned out to be.

So she took her time, fingers tracing over all of the things in the closet, telling herself that this was her getting to know her room and her things. She was delaying the inevitable. Like the bathroom, the walk-in closet was divided between Wyatt's things and Lucy's. The bathroom counter had two sinks, one for Wyatt and one for Lucy. And the closet had two sides with shelves for shoes and whatever nick-nacks they had on both sides.

Half of Wyatt's closet consisted of the same things he found in his locker. He wouldn't be happy about that. Her clothes, they weren't as bad as she thought they would be. Yes, they were more revealing than she would usually wear, but they were filled with...so much light. She didn't mean that they were glowing or that they were alive somehow. She meant that they were lively, colorful, and told a story of someone who took joy out of their life.

She didn't know what to say or what to think when she thought about the dark colors with an occasional pop of color that consisted of her closet back before all of this happened.

Not that it mattered. There was no going back.

Bypassing all the dresses she picked a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. Once she was dressed she made her way to the door and paused, her hand just wrapping around the doorknob. She could do this. She had faced and greater things and more terrifying obstacles and her time traveling on the Lifeboat. She was not going to let this little girl, her little girl, scare her away.

Lucy ignored the small part of her and that was screaming at her that her life had changed just yesterday and that she was about to do something that she never kind of wanted or thought that she would get. She couldn't let the doubts pull her down or back and forth. It wouldn't be easy and things would take a time to get used to but she was committed to keeping Hannah safe and happy for the other Lucy.

Would that final thought and promise in mind she stepped out of the room and made her way downstairs.

<\-------->

Lucy had barely made it into the living before a shriek filled the room and a small weight rammed into her lower legs. Small hands grasped at her jeans and tugged, forcing Lucy to look down into the eyes of Hannah.

She was smaller than Lucy expected, hair all tangled and like a halo around her head, and blue eyes that certainly belong to Wyatt looking looking up at her.

Hannah didn't give her a second to think about what she was to do before her hands shot into the air as of asking her pick her up. She goes to ask why in confusion and he motions for her to go ahead standing up and drawing closer to them.

Carefully Lucy collected Hannah and placed her on her hip. Saying that Hannah was delighted to be in her arms was an understatement. The toddler wrapped arms around Lucy's neck, tucked her head close to Lucy's throat, and started babbling. Lucy could barely catch what she was saying.

“Lucy…hi, good morning. This just…happened. I don’t know…it happened.” Wyatt said, looking oddly delighted or nervous. She wasn't sure which.

“She wake you up?” Lucy asked. She'd never handled a child this small, never felt comfortable enough to do so. But Hannah…it felt right. From her baby soft hair that smelled like lavender to her blue onesie with books on them...it felt right. And it threw Lucy for a loop.

He nods, “I have a feeling it wasn’t the first time or the last time she’s woken…” She could tell that for a sec he had slipped up, thinking about the other Wyatt and the times that Hannah had probably woken him up in the exact same manner.

Lucy jumped in, ready to save Wyatt and change his line of thought, “She’s…” Words escaped her as well when Hannah popped back, making Lucy tighten her hold on the child, fear coursing through her. What if she dropped Hannah the first time she held her? Good thing Hannah had her shirt in a tight grip.

“Something special!” Hannah yelled, looking proud at having remembered this little tidbit about herself. She looked back and forth between them with a bigger smile on her face.

Wyatt took a step closer and placed a hand on Hannah's back, “What’s that baby girl?”

 _Baby girl._ In the span of one morning Wyatt was already calling her that? It amazed her that he was already wrapped around her finger.

Hannah nodded, her little legs jumping up and down, “Mommy always says I something special.”

“You are. You really are.” Lucy said absent-mindedly. This girl, this young child that's so much energy life inside of her. And she had a feeling that go was maybe underselling how much time and care it would take into raising Hannah. That little tidbit didn't hit her until this very moment. She wasn't just temporarily taking custody of Hannah. She was planning on raising her and that part scared her more than anything she never experienced before. Hannah was a life that would be shaped and molded by her experiences. How could she live up to the other Luci that shaped this child into the one she was holding in her arms.

“Breakfast now? Hannah hungry!” Hannah exclaimed and Luci jumped on those words as if they'd save her from drowning in her thoughts about the life they had here and that they could have here.

Wyatt led the way into the kitchen, “Yes. Breakfast. Eh, what do you want for breakfast?”

“Silly daddy. It’s pancakes day! Says it on calendar.”

They both followed where she pointed and found a bright calendar on the fridge that was color coded with different options including what they would have for breakfast the following week. Lucy had a feeling that she was the one that organized like this.

There's a spot at the table that has a booster seat and a mess of crayons and paper on the table. She was pretty sure that was Hannah's spot. Depositing her in her seat she went about helping Wyatt check the cabinets for breakfast. They'd just discovered the things needed to make pancakes when Hannah spoke up again.

“Why are you mad at each other?”

Lucy froze, pancake mix in her hands. How do you explain to a small child that things had changed in space and time and all of a sudden they were her parents and they didn't remember one bit about how things were or how she remembered them? Well, you don't. You lie. “We’re not mad at each other.”

Wyatt placed a pan on the stove and turned his attention to Hannah, “I already said we weren’t, baby. I promise you, no one’s mad.”

Hannah frowned and with a certainty only a small child could express, she pointed at them both, each hand gripping a crayon, “But you timeout on the couch! And didn’t kiss mommy good morning.”

Wyatt came to stand next to her and fumbled with his words, probably also at a loss at what to say to Hannah, “Eh, you know…”

Lucy doesn't know what got into her or what compelled her to do it but she leaned over and kissed Wyatt on the side of his cheek.

Before he could even ask why she did that or make eye contact with her, forcing her to truly analyze why she kissed him and how domestic and nice it felt doing that, she turned away. She could feel Wyatt eyes on her but she ignored him for the moment and stared at Hannah, “See? No one's angry at each other.”

Then...Hannah did something dangerous, something she had been warned by her mother was a child's greatest secret weapon. Hannah pouted, “No! You’re being weird and I don’t like it.”

Wyatt kneeled down next to Hannah while Lucy stayed back by the cabinets, a little starstruck that how adorable Hannah looked. “Mom and Pops just had a very hard day at work yesterday and we’re tired, but I promise, everything is fine.”

Hannah looked from Wyatt to Lucy for a couple seconds before nodding, “Kay, if you promise. You still love Mom?”

Wyatt sputtered and Lucy knew for a fact that the same blush rising on his cheeks was taking over her face. He didn't look at her despite how desperately she wanted him too.

She didn't love Wyatt. Or at least she thought she didn't. But the Wyatt and Lucy who created Hannah, did. Lucy didn't know how comfortable she would be with pretending for Hannah, especially with how complicated the relationship was, but she'd try and go with the flow until she understood why that blush had overtaken both of their faces and how it connected to the moments before they arrived at the house where are their feelings or bubbling right beneath the surface.

Lucy could see Wyatt swallow before replying with a certainty she never knew he could in relation to all of this, “Yes.”

“You’re supposed to say always,” Hannah implored.

Wyatt took a hold of the hand that had dropped on her lap and smiled, “Always.”

Lucy wished she could capture this moment and have photographic evidence of the domestic and lovely scene in front of her for the inevitable moment where doubt got to him. He was a natural with Hannah, with smiles that were breathtaking despite how new this was to both of them.

Lucy's shoulders relaxed and she felt the tension she'd been carrying in her body lessen by leaps and bounds. If he could do this, she could do this. They weren't alone. They had each other.

Hannah turned the conversation on her. “You mom? Still love pops?”

Lucy took in their expectant faces, Hannah’s pout on the brink of turning into a smile and while Wyatt...well Wyatt looked like he couldn't wait for the answer and that almost blew her away. He wanted to know.

“Always.”

Hannah smiles, banging the table with her hands and throwing herself into coloring with a determination she'd only seen in herself when deadlines clashes with student papers she had to grade. “Good. Now can we have pancakes? I can help. I'm good at helping. One time Pops needed help and I knew what he needed before Uncle Rufus did!”

Lucy and Wyatt watched her for a sec, early fascinated by the energy that she had, before Wyatt stood and headed her way to start cooking breakfast.

“Well I guess I’m making pancakes.”

Lucy handed over the box of pancake batter and started collecting the other things the box needed. She'd never been a fan of cooking and that wasn't about to change now, ‘Better you than me. I’m pretty sure I can ruin those.

“It’s impossible to ruin pancakes, Luce.”

“You’d think but nope. Ask my mom. There might have been an incident or two involving making her breakfast.

“Really?” Wyatt asked with a laugh before continuing, “You keep surprising me.”

“Good,” was her easy response, the smile she could feel taking over her face, honest and happy, “Gotta keep you on your toes.”

“It’s you again mom,” Hannah whispers to herself but obviously fails because they both hear her.

Lucy could have sworn that Wyatt let out a little snort when he laughed and that it was the cutest thing she's ever seen the man do. He gave her a little nod as if to say, “Go on. I've got this,” and she headed towards the table.

Hannah shuffled in her chair and moved one of her coloring pages to the seat Lucy was about to take. A handful of crayons followed.

“It’s always been me…” Lucy struggled with what to call Hannah. She wasn't like Wyatt who had easily slipped into calling her baby. In fact the only nickname she never really used or hurt around her was when her mother called her “sweetheart.”

“Yes, but it was weird you. Like that time you were mad at pops and I had to go stay with Grandma Carol you.”

If her mom was healthy enough to watch Hannah was she not sick as well? Lucy put the question aside for the next time she got to talk to Amy or Jiya.

“I promise I’m me and I’m not mad at pops. You want to know why? I’m gonna tell you a secret. It’s really hard to stay mad at pops,” she whispered conspiratorially and ducked down to be on Hannah's level.

Hannah's eyes widen and she responded with, “Cause he smiles at you and it makes you feel happy?”

Lucy thought that was a very good way of describing how Wyatt made her feel when he smiled at her. No matter what situation they were in or what danger they faced, his smile would brighten her day.

“Yes, that’s right. He makes me happy.”

There was no lie or need to fake it there.

One second Lucy and Hannah were having a deep conversation in hushed whisper and in the next Lucy jumped back in shock as her charge screamed, “UNCLE RUFUSSSSSSSSSSS,” and flew across the room, clinging to Rufus’ legs with a practiced ease that told of the countless times she had done this.

Rufus stood frozen, looking down at the little girl who had her arms and legs wrapped his legs. “Good…morning?”

A laugh came from behind him and Jiya came into view. “I told you.”

“What just happened?” Lucy asked, rubbing her ear. Hannah had gone up to a frequency she didn’t even think possible.

Hannah looked over at Lucy like she was crazy and settled her legs on the ground before pointing up. “IT’S UNCLE RUFUS.”

Lucy wasn’t the only one who let out a small laugh at Hannah’s expression and Rufus’ continued one of shock.  “The one and only.”

Wyatt stepped forward and kneeled down next to Hannah, “Maybe you want to sit down so uncle Rufus can breathe?”

Hannah didn’t seem like she wanted to listen to reason now that Rufus was around. He really was her favorite. “NO. I stay with uncle Rufus.”

A small itty bitty evil part of her felt smug that he was feeling uncomfortable now like they’d been late yesterday and which Rufus had taken a delight to.

“Whatever you want, baby.” Lucy could see Wyatt trying to contain his laughter at her serious face and she too adapted this serious face when Hannah turned to look at her as well. Their kid meant business.

“Need any help with breakfast?” Jiya offered.

“Please,” Lucy and Wyatt answered at the same time. She still knew this kitchen better than they did.

Jiya immediately started going through the cabinets, pulling out additional things, “I got you. In the meantime, Rufus, I’d suggest you find somewhere to sit. Previous experience indicate she’s not gonna let go of you at least till breakfast is ready.

Rufus sputtered, hummed for a split second, and shuffled towards the table, Hannah still firmly attached to his legs like some sort of octopus, “I …okay.”

“Rufus without jokes. Never thought I’d see the day,” Wyatt commented as he joined Jiya at the counter. And this time, no matter how hard she tried, Lucy couldn’t hold in her laugh.

Finally reaching a seat, Rufus was set free long enough to sit down before Hannah scrambled up and into his lap, “You’re the one with a kid.”

“All things considered,” Lucy started, watching as Hannah shuffled all her coloring pages and came upon one with three people wearing what looked like the clothes they’d worn in 1865. In fact, it looked exactly like what they wore, “it seems like your life changed as much as ours did.”

Hannah handed her favorite uncle a crayon and started coloring alongside his goddaughter, a look of wonder still firmly on his face, “I guess it did.”

<\-------->

With Wyatt contently flipping pancakes like he’d done it all his life and Hannah & Rufus coloring, Lucy took this as a perfect opportunity to speak with Jiya about something that wouldn’t leave her mind and that she should’ve asked about earlier, her mother and whatever fate had befallen her in this timeline.

Placing a hand on Jiya’s shoulder she asked, “Can I talk with you for a sec?”

“Sure,” was her quick response, “Maybe back outside?”

“Yeah,” Lucy agreed, stepping back as Jiya led the way. Lucy followed and only glanced back once, well...twice...to make sure everything was ok. It was. The content look on Hannah’s face, the far away look on Rufus’ face, and the small nod that Wyatt gave her, proved it all, “We'll be right back guys.”

The backyard looked like something out of a catalogue. There was a full deck with a fire pit, sitting area, and a place to barbeque. And once you stepped off the deck there was a sprawling green backyard with flowers around the edges and a swing and shed to the side all the way at the back.

It looked wonderful.

Jiya lead her about the deck until they were both standing barefoot in the morning grass.  

“This should be far enough to keep wondering ears away. What's up? What did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to ask about my mom.”

“What about her?”

“Is she okay?”

“Of course she's okay. What's wrong Lucy?”

“In my timeline or this timeline before we saved Amy, she was sick and then she wasn't. I just wanted to make sure that she was okay. Hannah mentioned sometimes staying over at her house and it made me think that...that she might be ok.”

“She is, I promise.”

Lucy tucked her hands behind her ears and let out a big breath. Relief is all she felt. Relief that she never thought she’d actually get when they started all of this, “Oh Jiya. How did everything end up like this?”

“Like what?”

“With a me back and my mom okay and a kid and husband I never never wanted or needed,” Lucy said in one breath, voice sounding high and panicked. She didn’t know where the panic came from but she was happy that it had happened around Jiya.

“Woah woah. Deep breaths,” Jiya said in a hurry, one hand on Lucy’s back, “I know that this is new.”

Lucy followed her instructions and took a couple deep breaths, “Very”

“And I know that it's overwhelming.”

“Very…”

“But if there's anyone that I have faith in it's you and Wyatt. You got this.”

“What if we don't got it?” Lucy asked, pricklings of fear rearing their ugly heads, “She's wonderful, Hannah. I don't know how the other Lucy did it but she did such a good job. I can tell that already.”

“She wasn't ready either when she had Hannah,” Jiya reasoned, “But she took it a step at a time, day by day, with Wyatt and all of us by her side. You have to remember that we got you, no matter what. You’re not alone.”

They fell into an easy hug.

“Thank you Jiya. I don't know what I would do without you.” Lucy mumbled into Jiya’s shoulder.

“Probably nothing too big or crazy because you two are a fantastic team. You and Wyatt. Never doubt it.”

“I won't.”

They separated and Jiya kept taking deep breaths in with her. It was more calming than Lucy expected. And it probably wasn’t the first time Jiya had done this for her.

Lucy was grateful to have this friendship and looked forward to getting to know Jiya as more than someone she worked with, Rufus’ girlfriend, or the only person they trusted enough to tell the truth to about all this mess with the timeline and memories.

When Lucy’s mind stopped feeling like it was going a mile a minute, Jiya took the opportunity to keep their conversation going. “Oh and another thing. If you're going to really stick this out and really take the time to get to know Hannah and the life that you have with Wyatt, then you're going to have to stop thinking about this life as the other Lucy's life. This is your life now. That kid in there is your kid.”

The admonition caught her by surprise.

“But I don't remember her,” Lucy reasoned.

Jiya shook her head and put her hands on Lucy’s shoulders, “But you'll make new memories and love her as much as the OG Lucy did. I've got no doubt about that. So stop. you are Lucy. This is your house. That is your kid. Wyatt’s a whole nother conversation that we can have later on this week, because at this point I can tell that you care for him but it's not marriage and kid kind of caring for each other.”

“Which is absolutely ok,” Lucy implored. If she had feathers, they’d be ruffled right about now. No one could tell her how she felt about Wyatt or how fast they had to cement. Especially when she wasn’t sure herself.

“Of course. I'm just saying that you have a choice. You've made it with Hannah.I can tell. And a lot of it has to do with her being your flesh and blood, right?” Jiya explained and Lucy nodded, “But Wyatt, you have to choose that for yourself and or give it an opportunity to naturally flourish.”

“There's something there. It's been there for a while. And a part of me is afraid that adding the kid to the mix is going to make things more difficult.”

“Or make things easier. You never know. There’s no history books, as far as we know, about what you choose to do from here on out or your life with Wyatt and Hannah.”

As far as they both know. The thought freaked her out a bit. But Jiya was right. There were no rules or a guidebook that would tell her or Wyatt how to do this. Their situation was to unique for that.

“So take a risk, take a chance, and see where it takes me?”

“Exactly. And it's not like everything is set in stone. This is your life and you get to choose.”

The thought came to her without hesitation, without fear or doubt.

_I chose them._

End of Chapter 7.  



	8. So It Begins (Wyatts POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wyatt has feels, dreams, and everything in between about the curiously wonderful little girl named Hannah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie wrote this bad boy of a chapter full of Wyatt feels. 
> 
> Remember, we're doing alternating views with Lyra doing Lucy and Lizzie doing Wyatt. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! More Hannah coming your way next week! <3

Wyatt Logan was one hundred percent sure that nothing he’d ever done in this life or the alternate one could have prepared him for being a father. But he was also absolutely sure that, at the very least, he knew what not to do.

He had, after all, enough experience with bad fathers to know what to avoid.

So when he looked at the little person perched on his chest, staring at him, eyes filled with so much trust, so much love, he couldn’t help but smile and put his arms around her, just like his father never did.

“Good morning munchkin,” he pressed a kiss against her cheek and she giggled as she burrowed into him instinctively. “Pops is not on timeout,” he promised, because whatever he and Lucy had to figure out, that was for them to worry about, not Hannah. “Pops was just reading something and he fell asleep.”

“You never read on the couch, Pops. Are you mad at mommy?” She protested without raising her head, and Wyatt could feel how her whole body slackened as she settled into his chest. 

“No one’s mad,” he denied, but Hannah just shifted so she was more comfortable and let out a tiny sigh that had him forgetting his previous train of thought. “Are you tired baby?” he tried to look into her face, map it till he could see it even with his eyes closed, but she’d turned into his shoulder to get more comfortable and he couldn’t see her. “Want to sleep a little more?”

The little head nodded, but she didn’t actually move, so Wyatt assumed that meant she was just going to take a nap right there, on top of him.

Welcome to fatherhood indeed.

A part of him wanted to go back to sleep, especially because, if the lack of light was any indication, it wasn’t exactly time to get up, even for an early riser like him. Another part, though, a bigger part, just wanted to stay here and savor this moment that he never thought he would get.

Especially not after he lost Jessica.

He’d never particularly wanted kids, or dreamed about them, but he’d wondered, from time to time, what a kid with his eyes and Jessica’s smile would look like. The fantasy had disappeared with her, of course, and he’d never really gone as far in his feelings for Lucy as to wonder what their imaginary offspring would look like.

This was a good thing, because now that he’d taken one look at Hannah, he couldn’t imagine anything other than her – she was  _ that  _ perfect.

Nothing could ever compare.

“Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!”

He’d fallen asleep, somehow, despite all the care he’d taken not to. He’d had a dream about Hannah, a good dream that almost felt like a memory about holding her in his arms for the first time as a tiny newborn, her face splotchy and red as Lucy cried softly in the hospital bed and tears ran down his own face. But she wasn’t tiny anymore, no, and she wasn’t quiet either, instead she was poking at his chest with much more force than a three – or was it four year old – should have.

“Pops, I’m hungry. Wake up!”

“Hi, hi baby. No need to poke your father, he’s too old to be poked.”

Hannah laughed a joyful, carefree sound. “You said I could never call you old!”

Wyatt couldn’t but smile in return. “You can’t. I, however, can say whatever I want about myself.”

But his daughter was not having it. “No. You not old. You young and handsome and the best pops in the entire universe. I know this for a fact.”

“You…” He could barely get the words out, that’s how choked up he was. “You know this for a fact?”

“What know this for a fact mean, Pops?” She asked, at his questioning look, her little eyes big and round. 

“It means …it means you know it’s true.” He responded, even though he was half afraid of what her answer would be after the explanation.

She nodded and threw her arms around his neck. “Then Hannah right! I know this for a fact.” She pressed a wet kiss against his cheek and continued talking, “You’re the best Pops ever, and everyone says so.”

It was his turn to laugh, and he couldn’t remember having felt this light, this  _ loved _ , in years – possibly decades. “Who’s everyone?”

“Mom, and me, Uncle Rufus, Aunt Jiya, Aunt Amy and Grandma Carol,” she counted. “Everyone!”

Ah, to be four again and to have your entire world consist of less than ten people.

But he didn’t have time to add more to the conversation, or to ask what, exactly made him so good at being a father, because the little acrobat in his arms must have a Mom alarm, for she heard Lucy way before it was humanly possible and she was out of his arms and running at her as soon as she’d descended the stairs.

She looked calm and domestic in just simple jeans and a t-shirt, and even to his trained ‘detect distress in Lucy’ eyes, she looked …well, okay. Confused, yes, because that was their default these days, but maybe it was wishful thinking on his part, but he almost thought she also looked happy.

To see Hannah, who she was just now picking up and cradling into her arms.

To be here, in this house, that seemed to be made for her.

_ With him _ .

“Lucy…hi, good morning. This just…happened. I don’t know…it happened,” he found himself saying as he gestured at Hannah, who was now curled into her mother much like she’d been curled into him earlier.

“She wake you up?” Lucy asked, but Wyatt was too entranced with the picture the two of them made to manage more than a nod. At Lucy’s silent contemplation of Hannah, though, he had to add “I have a feeling it wasn’t the first time or the last time she’s woken…” 

Me, he was about to say. No the first time she’s woken me.

Except it was. This wasn’t his life, and he wasn’t the father Hannah knew. There was nothing he could do to bring that man back.

He just had to hope he could, somehow, be what she needed.

“She’s…” Lucy jumped in, as if she were trying to save him from his own thoughts, and he appreciated the attempt more that he could explain, especially because it was clear she actually had no idea what to say.

“Something special!” Hannah yelled, like these words had been repeated often enough that she had no reason to ever doubt them, and it absolutely did not make Wyatt’s heart constrict painfully, nope. He was perfectly okay and in control of his emotions.

Oh, who was he kidding, he hadn’t been perfectly okay since they’d step foot in this house, and quite possibly, not since a bossy know-it-all had informed him they were about the same age so he could stop calling her ma’am.

But, since he could not resist his girls, and since he was suddenly struck with the desire to know where Hannah had learned this, he moved a little closer so he could place a hand on Hannah’s back, and asked: “What’s that baby girl?”

“Mommy always says I something special.” Hannah replied, like what Mommy said was the absolute truth. Like Mommy would never lie. Like Mommy was perfect.

Wyatt couldn’t say he disagreed, especially as she stood there, their child in her arms, looking both lost in her own mind and yet, very mindful of the little person she had in her arms.

“You are. You really are.” Lucy replied, and there was no doubt in her voice, no hesitation. 

Together, they’d made this special little person. And as he looked at them, Wyatt promised himself he’d do whatever the two of them needed to make sure they never had to be apart.

“Breakfast now? Hannah hungry!” Hannah was certainly not one to be derailed, and Wyatt itched to reach out to Lucy and just grab the girl in his own arms, hold her closer. But Lucy had her, and a look at her face told Wyatt she probably needed the comforting weight of her.

Plus – and this just occurred to him – he didn’t have to fight for Hannah’s attention. He was her father. 

He had days, and months, and years of her attention ahead.

With that, though, came the fear. He also had years of guiding her, of teaching her about right or wrong, of making sure she was safe and cared for and …happy. 

For so long, he’d been responsible for only himself. He’d had Jessica, yes, but after she was gone, he’d thrown himself into the work, because it didn’t matter if he was gone – and if he could somehow go in a way that benefited someone else, then why not? Now, though, now he not only had a reason for living, he had a responsibility.

He needed to be here. He needed to be better. Not for himself, but for her.

For both of them.

He hadn’t been the perfect husband before – far from it, in fact. He’d never had a chance to be a father, but he didn’t think the man who was married to Jessica would have been that good at it, either, because in about two days of having this, of Lucy and Hannah and this house and this life he’d stumbled upon and didn’t really feel like he deserved, Wyatt had come to one startling conclusion.

The Jessica he remembered, the marriage he’d mourned, didn’t exist. It was all a fabrication, a lie he told himself because he felt so guilty about how things had ended with Jessica.

Except now she was alive, and well, and away from him, and he found that …surprisingly, that didn’t bother him as much as he figured it might have. He wasn’t in love with Jessica anymore, hadn’t been in love with her for years, might have even fallen out of love with her when they were still married, back before things went wrong.

She’d helped him believe in himself, once upon a time. Given him a reason to go on. She’d been his light when he had none, but she’d never been the one thing Wyatt was desperate to paint her as …the love of his life.

He was becoming increasingly sure that role belonged, if not to the little girl Lucy was holding in her arms, to the woman that had gifted him with that little girl, and though he knew she might need time to get used to the idea of them, to this picture perfect life, he was going to do whatever it took to convince her of this.

Once upon a time, he’d lost everything. He wasn’t about to do it again, not when it was within his control.

And Jessica …she could live a happy life away from him, hopefully found someone who could love her the way Wyatt told himself he always did.

He had a family now, and that was his priority. 

Step one: make his daughter breakfast. “Yes. Breakfast. Eh, what do you want for breakfast?” he asked the toddler as she and Lucy followed him into the kitchen.

“Silly daddy. It’s pancakes day! Says it on calendar.”

Dear God, they had an actual calendar. It was so domestic Wyatt wanted to cry. He also wanted to high five alternate them, because the thing was beautiful, color coded with different options and stretching to next week.

He set about trying to find pancake ingredients (Was he supposed to make them from scratch? How did you even do that?) while Lucy deposited Hannah in her booster seat and joined him in the search for…whatever it is they were looking. Luckily, there was some prepared pancake mix in one of the cupboards, and he was so excited at the thought that he might actually be able to do this that he almost missed Hannah’s question.

Almost.

“Why are you mad at each other?”

Both he and Lucy froze, but she seemed to snap out of it way faster, because he was still trying to find words when she flat out denied it. 

“We’re not mad at each other.”

Be cool, Wyatt, he told himself. Be casual. Kids can smell fear. Get the pan, place it on the stove, turn around casually and then deny it again.

“I already said we weren’t, baby.” His voice was as casual as he could make it, but he didn’t look at Lucy as he spoke. “I promise you, no one’s mad.”

Hannah, however, was not so easily derailed. She frowned adorably – he really needed to stop finding everything she did adorable or he wasn’t going to be able to properly parent – and pointed at the two of them, “But you timeout on the couch! And didn’t kiss mommy good morning.”

Officially lost for words, that’s what he was. “Eh, you know…” he started, because I would really, really love kissing your mom but I don’t think this is the right time or the right way to show her that I want this to be real was just too much information for a toddler.

And then, Lucy stepped right next to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, which effectively ensured that he wouldn’t be able to find words for the next few minutes.

Maybe, he thought, maybe it wasn’t just him feelings all these things. Maybe he didn’t have to convince her of anything, maybe he just had to show her it was possible. Maybe she was as open to the possibilities as he was.

“See? No one's angry at each other.” Lucy turned to Hannah, but he couldn’t focus on the little girl now, his eyes were glued to Lucy’s rapidly blushing face and those lips that had just grazed his skin.

This was the exact moment Hannah turned into the stereotypical four year old, with a pout and a bang of the table as she exclaimed: “No! You’re being weird and I don’t like it.”

He still found it adorable, damn it. He was going to be such a pushover.

“Mom and Pops just had a very hard day at work yesterday and we’re tired, but I promise, everything is fine.” He told Hannah, as he kneeled next to her, and he made sure to look into her eyes so he could see the truth there.

Everything was fine. Everything would be fine.

_ He’d make sure of it _ .

She must have seen the truth in his eyes, but since she was his kid, that meant she just moved on to another, harder question. 

Hannah looked from Wyatt to Lucy for a couple seconds before nodding, “Kay, if you promise. You still love Mom?”

Was there an answer to this, he thought, as he found himself sputtering. Did he love Lucy? He felt certain that he could love her, that he would love her if he only let himself, if she let herself, if they continued on this path, together. But was that enough? Would Hannah see through him?

In the end, though, he couldn’t give any other answer but yes, and hope his daughter –  _ his daughter  _ – would believe him. 

“Yes.”

“You’re supposed to say always,” was the quick retort, which, in Wyatt’s mind, meant his love proclamation had looked convincingly enough, a fact he wasn’t ready to touch, not with a ten foot pole.

That was for later. For him, and for Lucy. 

So he just took hold of Hannah’s hand, smiled, and said what she needed him to say: “Always.”

“You mom? Still love pops?” Hannah turned, and of course, Lucy and Wyatt follow. Even though he knew they weren’t really there yet, he knew the reality of their feelings was not something to be discussed in front of a four year old, he still couldn’t help but hold his breath as he waited for her.

“Always.”

He found himself tearing up all the sudden, so in a way, it was good that Hannah decided her happiness was so grand that she had to bang her hands on the table.“Good. Now can we have pancakes? I can help. I'm good at helping. One time Pops needed help and I knew what he needed before Uncle Rufus did!”

For some reason, Wyatt couldn’t really imagine Rufus as someone who was any better equipped than him to deal with breakfast.

But that was a joke for another time, one that included his friend.

“Well I guess I’m making pancakes,” he said to lighten the mood, and Lucy moved to his side right away, handing him the box of pancake mix as she started collecting the rest of the ingredients. 

“Better you than me,” she told him. “I’m pretty sure I can ruin those.

“It’s impossible to ruin pancakes, Luce,” he defaulted into a nickname, because this felt like the time and the place for nicknames.

“You’d think, but nope.” Was he supposed to find her as adorable as he found Hannah? “Ask my mom. There might have been an incident or two involving making her breakfast.”

“Really?” He couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image. “You keep surprising me.”

“Good,” her response was easy, and maybe even a bit flirty, like she was the Lucy from a few days ago, the one who’d called him a reckless hot head and hugged him like she never wanted to let go. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”

“It’s you again mom,” Hannah whispered in that not actual-whisper things he always imagined kids did, and he couldn’t help but snort at the thought of Hannah recognizing this Lucy that was, in so many ways, foreign to him.

“Go on. I've got this,” she said, as if she’d actually been about to help him, and he turned away from them to try to give them a little privacy as he started to work on breakfast for his family.

Thankfully, alternate Wyatt had been smart enough to procure the already prepared mix, and he stopped for a moment to consider that he might actually want to try to other one …the complicated one. He’d never really been one to experiment in the kitchen, quick and easy was his way, but he’d had to cook for himself most of his life, so he wasn’t exactly incompetent.

And now, he had a reason to learn, didn’t he?

He prepared the mix and was contemplating shapes when a scream so loud that it might have shattered glass penetrated his subconscious, and he was turning around, looking for a weapon, before he could even comprehend what had happened.

This, of course, was when he actually processed the words.

“UNCLE RUFUSSSSSSSSSSS,” Hannah had not only screamed, but she’d launched herself at Rufus and had, somehow, without his friend even moving, ended up half wrapped around him.

“Good…morning?” he said, and Wyatt tried really, really hard not to laugh.

He failed.

“I told you.” Jiya’s smug face was making it impossible to go back to normal.

All in all, this was the most amusing, domestic, beautiful morning of Wyatt’s life, and he really wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“What just happened?” Lucy asked, rubbing her ear as if she’d never heard anything louder in her life. The question was rhetorical, but of course, Hannah answered it.

“IT’S UNCLE RUFUS.”

He had to laugh. He just had to.

“The one and only.” Rufus said, and he looked at Wyatt as if asking for help. 

A worse friend would have let him fret, but Wyatt was just too happy to actively make someone miserable, so he walked forward to kneel next to Hannah and said “Maybe you want to sit down so Uncle Rufus can breathe?”

Hannah was having none of it, however. “NO. I stay with Uncle Rufus.”

Wyatt probably shouldn’t have found this so amusing, but after the hard time Rufus had given him and Lucy yesterday, it felt like sweet revenge to see him this uncomfortable, with a toddler that just refused to let go of him.

Lucy seemed to be reading his mind, because she put on a semi-serious face that he could see right through, and just let Hannah have her way. “Whatever you want, baby.” 

“Need any help with breakfast?” Jiya directed the words at him, but both he and Lucy answered a the same time.

“Please.” 

Maybe he needed to buy Jiya a thank you gift – I’d only been two days – because she immediately smiled at them and started rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out things he didn’t even realize he needed.

“I got you.” She said.  “In the meantime, Rufus, I’d suggest you find somewhere to sit. Previous experience indicate she’s not gonna let go of you at least till breakfast is ready.

Rufus sputtered, hummed for a split second, and shuffled towards the table, Hannah still firmly attached to his legs like some sort of octopus, “I …okay.”

“Rufus without jokes. Never thought I’d see the day,” he just had to say it, and the fact that it finally made Lucy crack and let out a peal of laughter made him feel like he was Superman. 

He could do this, the wife and the kid, the keeping them happy. He could do this.

“You’re the one with a kid.” Rufus retorted, because of course he did, but Wyatt didn’t have to think of a response, not this time.

He had a partner to back him up.

“All things considered,” Lucy said, as Hannah started coloring something Wyatt could not make out, “it seems like your life changed as much as ours did.”

“I guess it did,” said Rufus with a resigned face as he started coloring too.

Wyatt took this as his cue to go back to the pancakes, especially now that Jiya had blessedly produced a spatula, whipped cream and even blueberries.

Once, many, many years ago, his father had made pancakes. Wyatt remembered the day clearly, because it’d been one of the few times he’d felt cared for, like he actually mattered to the man.

It’d lasted just a few hours, the feeling, he’d been back in his father’s bad side just a few hours later, with the corresponding blow, this time to the head, to show for it. But, for some reason, the memory of a good morning had always stuck with him.

He hoped Hannah had not just one, or two, but so many good memories that they blended together and she could never tell one from the other.

“Can I talk with you for a sec?” she heard Lucy ask Jiya, and he felt an infinite fondness for her when a few seconds later she looked back at him, as if she wanted to make sure everything was okay.

All he could do was nod. 

If Lucy needed a moment, he would give her that. If she needed answers that only Jiya could provide, he’d move out of the way and give her space, And if she needed him, he’d be there for her.

Because, as he saw her walk away, he was struck, once again, with the notion that this life, the one he was living, the one he’d just accepted he was immensely glad he got to live, was not perfect just because he had Hannah, or because he had a close group of friends that felt more like family than anything he’d ever had before.

No, if this life was the thing Wyatt never thought he could have it was because he also had her, Lucy. It had her every second of every day, through good times and bad times. It had her to kiss his cheek and hold his hand and raise this wonderful kid they’d created with, together.

She was his happily ever after, not the rest.

_ Oh, crap _ , he thought to himself.  _ You are in love with her _ . 

“If it helps, you’re the only one who didn’t know.” Rufus said, almost as if he’d say that out loud. Had he said it out loud?

“Didn’t know what?” Hannah asked, confirming that he hadn’t actually spoken his feelings out loud, which wasn’t much better, considering that his face must have given it away.

“Nothing to worry about, munchkin. We’re just talking about how much Pops loves Mommy.”

“Silly Uncle Rufus,” Hannah replied, “Pops already knows that. He tells us all the time. He said it to me earlier, and Pops never lies.”

He wasn’t laughing at Hannah, or at Rufus, or even at the situation, Wyatt told himself, as he doubled over, he was laughing at this feeling of contentment that had settled in his chest.

Maybe, just maybe, he thought, as he looked at Hannah, now admonishing Rufus over what colors to use, he could also get to that point where the good memories blurred together. Maybe that life was possible. Maybe he did deserve it.

Heart-shaped pancakes, that’s what he was making, he decided, as he turned back to the stove. And if Lucy called him a sap, so be it. He’d been called worse things.

End of Chapter 8.


	9. Finally Alone (Wyatt's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do Wyatt and Lucy do now that Jiya and Rufus leave them alone with Hannah? Apparently have talks & watch something called Vampirina?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie wrote this bad boy and finally started getting things...MORE SEXY! And lovely, and funny, and full of family feels.
> 
> Remember, we're doing alternating views with Lyra doing Lucy and Lizzie doing Wyatt. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! More Hannah coming your way next week! <3

Despite the certainty that this was what he wanted – or maybe because of it – Wyatt found himself almost hyperventilating at the thought of being alone with Lucy and Hannah, of having to figure out how to live in this life that he’d barely even begun to believe he deserved.   
  
Logically, he knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Jiya had just gotten out of the hospital, for crying out loud. She needed rest and probably some time alone with the man who was clearly more than her recent boyfriend. Babysitting them as they tried to figure out their new reality was not part of her job description.   
  
But selfishly, even if he knew that any conversation between Jiya and Rufus was bound to reveal that a lot had changed in their relationship too and he’d have something to hold over Rufus’s head, he also just didn’t want them to go.   
  
Not even for the satisfaction of having something to hold over his friend’s head.   
  
He didn’t want to have to face this life, not because he had no idea what he was doing – which he didn’t, but because he’d just interiorized that this world he’d landed on, this life another version of him had gotten to live, it meant entirely too much for him to fuck it up.   
  
It must have shown on his face, despite his better attempts at stealth, because Jiya bumped his hip after she and Rufus finished helping them put everything back to its rightful place and announced their plans to leave.   
  
“You know she's not going to bite, right?” she asked, with a twinkle in her eye that reminded Wyatt that, for all he didn’t really know Jiya all that well, this version of her was something of a little sister to him, and clearly could read him like a book.   
  
He still defended himself, of course, because isn’t that what an older brother would do?   
  
“What?” Step one, play dumb. “Of course we know!” Step two, denial.   
  
“It’s just nice having you here to help and explain.” Lucy came in to try to save him, like she always did, because that’s who she was, selfless and self-sacrificing to a fault, taking blames that weren’t hers and always trying to mediate. He’d seen it before, he’d always seen it, it’s just that until this moment, it hadn’t really been his responsibility to point it out, or to help her realize that she could put herself first.   
  
Now, though? Now it wasn’t only his duty, it would be his absolute pleasure.   
  
That was a matter for another moment, though, right now Jiya deserved his absolute focus, especially because, on closer inspection she looked strained and like she hadn’t really slept well.   
  
“How are you feeling?” he had to ask, and by the way her eyes went softer, it was exactly the thing the other version of him would have asked.   
  
“I’m …tired,” she admitted, “This whole traveling in time and getting seizures thing really takes it out of you,” she tried to joke. “But I’m okay, I promise. I just need to go home, take a shower, change, and have a talk with Rufus so we can make sure nothing really changed between us.”   
  
Wyatt already knew the answer to that, even without a talk, and he had a feeling Rufus knew it too, by the way his eyes widened.   
  
“We're a phone call away if you really need us.” She continued. “She's going to be watching cartoons for a while so don't worry.” She pointed at Hannah, who was happily staring at an Ipad like absolutely nothing could be more interesting than whatever she was watching. “This is her “me” time, so go and have yours while keeping an ear out for her. She's really good at yelling if she needs you. Trust me.”   
  
“Ok. Thank you Jiya.” Lucy nodded and went in for a quick hug, but Wyatt was too distracted by the notion of a four year old having “me time” to react.   
  
Wasn’t me time a thing you starting yearning for when you were a teenager? Why did his four year old need me time?   
  
Lucy elbowed him in the gut before he could spiral on that train of thought.   
  
“Yeah, for everything,” he agreed, as he also hugged Jiya without hesitation. It’d only been a day, but the more he lived in this house, with Lucy, the more time he spent with Hannah, the more he inhabited this reality, the easier he found it to just think of this as his life, and not someone else’s.   
  
“You two will be okay. I know it even if you don't know it yet,” Rufus had to add, after giving Lucy a hug and clapping him on the shoulder, and there was a whole conversation in one look at Jiya and Lucy started walking towards the door.   
  
You got this, he tried to project.   
  
So do you, he felt his friend was trying to reply.   
  
And as they both moved towards the door, towards Lucy, and Jiya, Wyatt let himself just …accept this. Not just Lucy, who he’d wanted for longer than he himself was ready to admit, not Hannah, who was the gift he never expected to get but could never turn away, but this …Rufus, and Jiya and Amy …people who were not his, who – other than Rufus – had never been his, caring.    
  
Knowing him. Thinking about him.   
  
Family. The kind he’d never dreamed of, the kind that you weren’t born with, but chose you.   
  
“See you guys later,” Lucy said, and Wyatt looked up to see his friends were already out the door and heading for a car he had never seen before in his life.   
  
Oh, yeah, Rufus was in for a fun talk.   
  
And so were he and Lucy, he thought, as he faced her confused face. But that was probably a matter for another time, because now there was a kid engrossed in cartoons to check in on, and they both gravitated towards her without exchanging even one word.   
  
Was this what parenthood was like?   
  
Hannah was practically dwarfed by the big couch she’d chosen to sit on, and this was probably enough of a ritual that she had everything figured out – a pillow to prop her back up and a big and soft pig plushie over her legs.   
  
Wyatt had no earthly clue was she was watching, only that there was a blue …dog?   
  
God, he was probably going to have to go goggle what kids were watching these days, among many other things, like what kind of information was appropriate for a four year old.   
  
“What should we do now?” Lucy stole the words from his mouth, and Wyatt was a bit annoyed with himself when he realized he didn’t have an answer.   
  
“I…have no idea.”   
  
“We can't just sit here; well stand here, all day watching her, can we?”   
  
He probably could, Wyatt thought, stand her all day watching her, learning her little features and the little gestures she made, trying to see himself or Lucy in the way she petted the plushie or the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed.   
  
This was, of course, their kid, though, and she was having none of that sappiness.   
  
“Mommy, Pops,” she gently chided, not even looking up when someone on the ipad started singing about getting mail, “this is me time. You too loud.”   
  
Yes, they’d just been told off by a four year old. One who needed “me time.” God, he was already feeling too old to be a parent and he’d only been one for two days.   
  
“Okay,” Lucy reacted first. “We’re just going to be …”   
  
“In the kitchen,” he added, because he didn’t really feel like going any farther than that. “Eh, cleaning …”   
  
Even though they’d already cleaned everything. Because, what else were they supposed to do …go upstairs and leave her alone watching cartoons? Was that what parents did?    
  
Maybe instead of googling stuff he should go to a library, check out about twenty parenting books.   
  
“If you need anything just yell out to us,” Lucy told the toddler, who just waved at them.   
  
Waved. Like, yeah, I got it, bye now.   
  
Fifty parenting books would probably be better. Each and every one the library actually carried.   
  
Silence had never been so loud as when he and Lucy turned to look at each other and both headed for the kitchen, even though they were fully aware there was really nothing else to get done there.   
  
“What are we going to do?” Lucy asked as soon as they’d crossed the threshold, and there was so much trust in her eyes that Wyatt wanted to have an answer. He wanted to have all the answers for her.    
  
Sadly, he didn’t.   
  
“Now?”   
  
“And the moment after, and the one following that. She’s...wonderful, every little bit of her, but what do we do next?”   
  
We live, he wanted to say. We love. And we move on, as a family. Because that’s what we are.   
  
Instead, what he said was: “Take it a step at a time? Together?”   
  
She nodded, like she needed that reaffirmation, like she needed to hear that, whatever happened, he was still here, with her. Like she wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to leave her.   
  
He’d always seen Lucy as the self-assured one. He never could have imagined before the past few days that she’d ever doubted him or Rufus would ever have her back, but these were not normal circumstances, and even for seasoned time travelers like themselves, this was more than a little out of the norm.   
  
Which is why he moved closer and took one of her hands in his. “Together. That’s not going to change. I’m here with you, every step of the way, okay?”   
  
Lucy nodded, and her eyes were warm and loving as she squeezed his hand tight and replied. “Yeah, together.”   
  
This, of course, did not make Wyatt spiral. Not at all. I mean, he wasn’t possibly thinking about how those words were tantamount to wedding wows at this point, considering the shared toddler in the other room. Or how Lucy had not, at any point, no matter how freaked out she was, suggested that she might want to take the kid and run.   
  
No, she’d looked to him for comfort, for support. She’d been understandably freaked out, yes, but the thought of having him there, next to her, had been a comfort.   
  
Which meant that maybe, just maybe, Lucy was starting to warm up to this life – the one they’d shared before and would hopefully share again.    
  
“How does your office look like? Still you?” he asked her, because he wanted her to relax with him, and she didn’t put any distance between them or let go of his hand as she replied.   
  
“Surprisingly so,” she tilted her head and smiled at him, and it was almost flirty, despite the fact that she followed it with, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this…”   
  
“Me too,” he agreed, because he didn’t think she was ready to hear that he’d already processed and decided this was the life he wanted.   
  
He might not even be ready to say it out loud.   
  
But he had. There was no sense in denying it. He’d been ¾ in love with Lucy before this trip to get Amy back and ½ ready to accept it, so honestly, finding himself in this picture-perfect life with her …well, it was a leap, yes, but not one he’d been unwilling to take.   
  
If anything, the only thing he regretted is that he’d never get those moments back. He’d never get to feel those things, experience those emotions.   
  
Finding out she was pregnant.    
  
Seeing Hannah for the first time.    
  
Marrying Lucy.   
  
He ached for those memories almost as much as he ached for Lucy. He wanted this life, but he didn’t want to feel like a stranger who’d somehow inherited perfection.   
  
No, he wanted to earn it.   
  
“But the stuff in that room...” Lucy continued, oblivious to his inner monologue, “it’s me Wyatt. And it’s you, and it’s Hannah.”   
  
“You mean the toys?”   
  
“Not just the toys,” she still hadn’t let go of his hand, but she gesticulated wildly with the other one. “My office has always been my sanctuary. Or parts of it have been. In my office I could escape from my mom, my sister, from everything.”   
  
He threw her a lifeline. “Kind of sounds like what I have in the garage. Self care. And now that I think about it, that’s what Hannah is doing right now with her “me” time. Probably got it from you.”   
  
They both smile at that, and the air feels a little more charged all the sudden, the hands that are still holding on to each other sweaty, as if they’ve both just realized how close they are, how much they want to be even closer, and how right now, in this moment, there’s a toddler on the other room that makes all of that impossible.   
  
“Probably got it from both of us,” Lucy replies, but her voice is breathy and Wyatt just wants to kiss her senseless.   
  
Which is not very different from most other days, to be fair.   
  
“Agreed,” he concedes her point and tries to continue the conversation, lest he do something crazy, like ravish her. “So you were saying? About your office?   
  
“Yeah, there’s books in there that I’m positive are yours and books that have to be Hannah’s.”   
  
“Maybe you’re really, really into children’s books these days.”   
  
She laughed, and the tension seemed to dissipate all the sudden, just companionship and a touch of affection remaining. “Or maybe you are. I get the feeling that my special room, somehow, in this reality, is always open for you.”   
  
His heart absolutely did not stop. It didn’t.    
  
“On that, I think we’re even,” he admits, as he thinks back to the garage.   
  
“How so?” she asks, and Wyatt can detect some uncertainty in her voice, as if, somehow, she’s worried that the other versions of themselves were not on equal ground.    
  
As if that Lucy had made space for Wyatt in her sanctuary, but he hadn’t done the same.   
  
In this regard, at least, he could easily set her straight.   
  
“Well, the car in the garage, the one this Wyatt has been fixing, apparently with Rufus’s help? You got if for him.”   
  
He can see she doesn’t get the significance before she opens her mouth, but he lets her get the question out instead of trying to explain. He’s always hated guys who speak over women.    
  
“I got you …him …some junk? Is that supposed to be a good thing?”   
  
They were still holding hands, but he came even closer so he could hold her other hand, and he brought both of them to his lips before letting them go. “There’s …a lot we don’t know about each other, and probably a lot we’re gonna have to talk about and you know, figure out, all things considered …but this …giving me or him, or whatever, this junk, so I can work on it …that’s the greatest gift you, she, could give either version of Wyatt. I promise.”   
  
Lucy’s smile could have powered the entire block, that’s how intense it was.   
  
“That’s …I’m glad.”   
  
He continued. “And …there’s a frame out there that I’m pretty sure the other me made with his own hands, containing a card from you. Everything in that garage screams you … Lucy. Everything.”   
  
She seemed at a loss for words, so he continued.    
  
“These people, the other versions of us …they weren’t here by mistake. They weren’t figuring stuff out. They were married, in every sense of the word.”   
  
Way to keep it light, Wyatt.    
  
“I …for me to allow others in my space …that’s big. That’s …you’re right. I knew it then. I knew it when I saw those books. I just …didn’t know how to put it into words.”   
  
“Aren’t you the one with the words?” he joked, trying once again, to break the tension, but the tension held steadfast this time.   
  
“Not right now. I just …this is big. I said that before, but …me, willingly giving up my space. It’s huge.”    
  
“Well, having a kid and a house is big too,” he felt like he had to state the obvious.   
  
“I know,” she nodded, took a deep breath, and ran her hand through her hair. “It’s just all blowing my mind, and I’m having a hard time focusing.”   
  
He came closer, though this time his hands found her shoulders. “Look …it’s not going to get easier …”   
  
“Gee, thanks …”   
  
“You didn’t let me finish,” he admonished. It’s not going to get easier right now. But it will over time. You couldn’t stand me in the beginning, remember?   
  
She laughed at that, just like he had intended. “You were kind of difficult.”   
  
He continued to smile. “You loved it, admit it. You hate it when people do your bidding all the time.”   
  
“It couldn’t hurt you to listen a little more than you do,” she retorted.   
  
“Boring,” he continued the joke. “But seriously,” he added, when he saw that she seemed more composed. “we’re gonna be fine fine. We are. Now, I’m going to need you to say it back to me, because it’s one thing to hear it and another one to say it. Plus, believe it or not, I’d do me good to hear it too.”   
  
She reached out to touch his elbows and locked eyes with him for a full ten seconds before letting the words out. “We’re gonna be fine. We’re together, after all.”   
  
For his own sanity, she really shouldn’t have added the last part.   
  
Especially if she didn’t want him to forget about the four year old, forget about the fact that for all intents and purposes they were not really married, and just take her into his arms and never, ever let her go.   
  
They really needed to have that them conversation sooner rather than later, he decided. He’d thought being around her on missions was bad enough, but nothing could have prepared him for the torture of living with her while not being with her.   
  
Conversation. Soon. Especially because it was becoming increasingly clear that, as flustered as Lucy was, he hadn’t exactly read her wrong back then, in that Mason Industries hallway, as he brought up possibilities.   
  
She wanted the same things he did. She just needed more time to process the four year old, the house and the picture-perfect life.   
  
Which was fair. He should have needed more time. For all that Lucy had called him a reckless hothead; he usually took a while to get to the place where he turned off his brain.    
  
But then again, his brain supplied, you’ve had a while. This isn’t new, even if you’ve jumped ahead 50 steps.   
  
He opened his mouth to say something, and he wasn’t quite sure exactly what he was going to say, would never get to figure it out, because Hannah’s screams made his blood run cold and his heart lodge in his throat.   
  
“MOMMY! POPS!”   
  
Wyatt had never run as fast. Lucy matched him stride for stride.   
  
But Hannah looked perfectly fine, her little face was smiling and animated, and the ipad was resting on the couch as she reached her arms out to them. “Me time is over. Wanna watch Vampirina with me?”   
  
He took one deep breath, and rubbed Lucy’s back as she took a deep breath of her own.   
  
“Hannah, you scared us,” Lucy chided her, though she was way gentler than he probably could have been in this moment.   
  
Or so he thought, until he saw her lower lip tremble and her little eyes go wide with anguish. “I sowwy. Scaring people is mean. I didn’t want to scare you, Mommy,” Hannah said, and she screwed up her face.   
  
“No, no …don’t cry baby,” he found himself moving towards her without a second thought. “It was nothing,” and he knew Lucy was glaring at him, could feel it more than see it, but he wouldn’t be the one to make his kid cry. No way. Wyatt didn’t have it in him. “We can watch whatever you want.”   
  
“Vampirina!” she said again, as she threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.   
  
What in the world was Vampirina? It didn’t really sound like a thing a four year old was supposed to watch. But, if she already knew it, did that mean the other versions of them had let her watch it?    
  
Parenting was giving him a headache.   
  
“Eh …sure,” he found himself replying, as he maneuvered them to give Lucy a pleading look. She, however, seemed to have no idea what Vampirina was, either, as she just shrugged and moved to join them on the couch.   
  
Hannah took over after that, letting go of him to sit in the middle of the two of them. She took the ipad in her hands and turned her body to curl on his lap, her little feet on Lucy’s.   
  
It was the most breathtaking sight he’d ever laid eyes on – or maybe the second most breathtaking one, after Lucy in that pink number from the Bonnie and Clyde mission.   
  
“So, tell me about Vampirina …” Lucy asked, and Hannah’s face came alive, even if she rolled her eyes at her mother before starting talking.   
  
“How could you forget about her, Mommy? She’s this really awesome ….”   
  
But Wyatt didn’t care what she was saying, all he cared about was Lucy’s face as she told this story, one that was half adoration and half longing, like even sitting there, she had a hard time believing this was hers, and she wanted it, so much it hurt.   
  
Wyatt could understand the feeling.   
  


<\-------->

  
Later, when his head finally hit the pillow, Wyatt would congratulate himself on making it through the day. They’d had his rough moments in there, like when Hannah had fallen asleep after two episodes of Vampirina, and they’d let her take a nap, only to realize much later that unscheduled naps made for a grumpy kid.   
  
Then, there was the adventure of having to cook lunch – an almost failed adventure that had been saved by already-prepared taco meat and fixings. Which, of course, had let to an afternoon outside and many hours of Wyatt wondering where, exactly, toddlers got their energy, and how in the world they did this every day of the week.   
  
Didn’t four year olds go to school?    
  
Which, of course, only lead to a very small freakout as they tried to figure out what day of the week it was, and how much of her regular routine Hannah might have missed, as they ran around the backyard.   
  
The answer was, thankfully, Saturday, so no time missed from anything. Jiya had called later, much later, to give them to run-down on what Hannah usually had for dinner (not much), how they divided the time during the week (no preschool yet, though that was coming soon), and what her bedtime was (surprisingly early).

Jiya had been on speaker, and he’d been about to ask about bath time, when Hannah had unceremoniously walked up to them, declared that it was his turn to help her with her bath and he better have a good story for her, and had proceeded to grab his hand and drag him upstairs, where she’d dropped her clothes on the way to the bathroom – not to self, that was probably not a good thing – and jumped in the tub before he could even fill it.   
  
Not that it really mattered, because she seemed just as happy to sit there as the water rose and prod him for stories of battle. Whatever else might have changed, he was pretty sure the other version of him hadn’t really told his kid actual battle stories, so he did what you do when you have a four year old asking for things she shouldn’t actually know about, he told a little white lie. And then another one.   
  
But it was okay, because the bathroom was filled with the sounds of her laughter as she asked question after question, and every other sentence was punctuated by the word Pops, and he could see Lucy picking up her clothes from the corner of his eye and he just smiled and kept talking.   
  
And when he heard Lucy standing in the doorway, a few minutes later, he finally obliged Hannah and switched from battle stories, to love stories, as he started talking about how wonderful mommy was, and how smart, and how he’d known, from the first time he’d laid eyes on her, that he never wanted to live without her.   
  
He didn’t have to lie this time, not even a little bit.

End of Chapter 9.


	10. Finally Alone (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy finally starts coming out of her shell after Jiya and Rufus' departure. Watch out for feels, romantic and family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyra wrote this bad boy and finally started getting things...MORE SEXY CUZ LIZZIE MADE IT MORE SEXY! And lovely, and funny, and full of family feels.
> 
> Remember, we're doing alternating views with Lyra doing Lucy and Lizzie doing Wyatt. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! More Hannah coming your way next week! <3

Lucy remembered her first day of school like the back of her hand. Her mom had dressed her up in her blue and white uniform, every hair in place, with a lunchbox to match the hair clips she alone had decided to wear, which had been firmly clasped in her hand.

And even though she looked ready, even though her mom told her she’d have a good time, and even though she made sure to tell Amy that it was ok and that she’d be home later to play...Lucy wasn’t ready. Not one bit.

She didn’t want to be separated from the certainty of her mother or the knowledge that she knew where everything went, how it worked, and what happened next. What could she say? Lucy was a kid of structure.

Right now, years later, and in another timeline where she _had_ a kid, Lucy felt the same thing. Jiya was going home. She understood that Jiya had been through a lot. And she understood that, like Rufus, she probably wanted to change and sit down to talk her boyfriend about the things that had changed between them - because they all knew there definitely had to be some things there that didn’t quite match up - but Lucy didn't have to like it.

Jiya was certainty. Jiya was knowledge. And yes, she was a phone call away, but her going made her insides contort and her stomach flip, like a panic attack was right around the corner, waiting for her. Basically, it wasn’t a good feeling, she didn’t want it, but she’d make due, like she’d done the time before and the one before that.

Hannah was a kid. How hard could she be to take care of?

By the panicked look in Wyatt’s eyes as they put everything from breakfast away, he was probably thinking the same thing and having the same fears. Would it be too much to beg Jiya to stay?

Probably.

Steeling herself, she focused on what she had. She had Jiya and Rufus and they were a phone call away. She had Amy. She had her mom. And without a doubt, without a hint of hesitation or worry, she had Wyatt. He wouldn’t leave her side and he’d brave everything that came with Hannah by her side.

Lucy could do this.

They could do this.

Ok, panic averted. For now.

Lucy was clearing up the last of the utensils from breakfast when she caught the tail end of a conversation Wyatt was having with Jiya.

“You know she’s not going to bite, right?” Jiya asked and by the baffled expression on Wyatt’s expression when he responded made Lucy think that maybe he WAS worried that Hannah would bite.

“What? Of course I know!”

This man, this brave and wonderful man who had fought countless men and women that had tried to come after them, looked like he was more scared about taking care of Hannah than anything he’d ever encountered before.

It made her want to comfort him. To pull him close and let him know it was okay, like he’d always done for her. But now wasn’t the time. Not with the look of panic on Wyatt’s face and the one of amusement on Jiya’s.

“It’s just nice having you here to help and explain,” Lucy said, trying to save Wyatt and give him a moment to collect himself. The grateful look he threw her way let her know it was the right move.

“How are you feeling?” Wyatt asked, easily handling the things that Lucy handed to him to put away or in the sink.

The way those two had talked, or the way Jiya had talked to him, Lucy mused. She was close to Lucy, but it was clear she was also close to Wyatt.

“I’m…tired,” she admitted, “This whole traveling in time and getting seizures thing really takes it out of you,” she tried to joke but it fell a little bit flat at the yawn that left her mouth. “But I’m okay, I promise. I just need to go home, take a shower, change, and have a talk with Rufus so we can make sure nothing really changed between us.”

Lucy locked eyes with Wyatt. Being alone in the house with him...it would give them more time to discover what had changed between them besides the obvious aka a house together, a life together, a child together.

“We're a phone call away if you really need us,” Jiya assured, somehow giving both of them the same look Lucy’s mother had given her when she finally calmed Lucy down enough to walk through those school doors. God, if Jiya ever had kids she’d make the best mom. “She's going to be watching cartoons for a while, so don't worry.” Jiya pointed at Hannah, who was happily staring at an ipad on the living room sofa like absolutely nothing could be more interesting than whatever she was watching. “This is her “me” time, so go and have yours while keeping an ear out for her. She's really good at yelling if she needs you. Trust me.”

Lucy did.

“Ok. Thank you Jiya,” Lucy nodded, going in for a quick hug and elbowing Wyatt gently when he seemed lost in space. The little time they’d spent with Hannah and already he was enamored with the girl. Their daughter.

Another thing to pack away and not dive deep into right now.

Wyatt jumped a bit and then rushed forward to hug Jiya, “Yeah, for everything.”

“You two will be okay. I know it even if you don't know it yet,” Rufus added, returning from the garage where they learned they had a bin for compost. How adult was that?

Rufus pulled Lucy into a hug and then clapped Wyatt on the shoulder, having some sort of conversation with Wyatt through their eyes, something that Lucy couldn’t really understand but that she gave them time for as she walked Jiya to the door.

“Remember,” Jiya reminded her once they got to the door, “This is your life. Your Hannah. Your Wyatt.”

My Hannah. My Wyatt.

“My family,” Lucy replied, not knowing where the words came from but still accepting them for the truth that they were.

Jiya beamed at her and nodded, “Exactly.”

Neither women elaborated more on what they were talking about as Rufus and Wyatt joined them and they walked out, heading towards a car she’d never seen before. Another thing that had obviously changed for Rufus.

“See you guys later,” Lucy called out.

Rufus took an extra second at his door, peering up at them as if steeling himself for what was to come, before hopping in, getting into the car and driving away.

Those two were definitely in for a conversation. Or two. Or three.

Now that Jiya and Rufus were gone...Lucy was kind of at a loss about to do. Hannah was fine. Actually, more than fine, as was obvious when they gravitated towards the living room and caught a peek at her.

Hannah was smack dab in the middle of the couch with a pillow propping her up and a stuffed plushie of epic proportions (for a kid her size) drapped across her legs and propping up her iPad. She looked at home and like this wasn't the first or second time she’d done this. In fact, it kind of felt like they were intruding.

By the look on Wyatt's face she knew he was confused about what Hannah was watching. But Lucy knew. She was watching Blue's Clues with the original Steve and not his cousin or whatever that guy was. Lucy approved, and as much as she was trying to break herself out of the habit of differentiating the other Lucy from herself, she couldn't help but feel connected. Even if their lives had diverged down two different paths they were still Lucy. They were still her. 

The enormity of the moment kind of blew Lucy away and she let it wash over her, changing her in ways that she herself couldn’t understand as she watched the small child singing along to “mail time.”

Was this what parenthood was like?

“What should we do now?” Lucy asked, eyes still fixed on Hannah like she was trying to figure her out. And she was. The kid was a constantly evolving puzzle that they probably wouldn’t be able to figure out...ever.

“I…have no idea.”

“We can't just sit here; well stand here, all day watching her, can we?”

Before Wyatt could respond Hannah stopped mid song and looked them over with a look she’d only seen adults give. You know, the one where they really care about you and are trying to tell you in the nicest way possible to fuck off? And in this case there was no “fuck off,” (Lucy would be concerned if there was, but she was giving them the look that came with it).

It was a shock when she just looked back at her iPad like nothing, before gently chiding, “Mommy, Pops. This is me time. You too loud.”

What was her life that she just wanted to apologize and make Hannah understand that they were just a bit lost for words and couldn’t stop looking at her because (well at least she was, and she had a thought that Wyatt was as well) Lucy was utterly fascinated by everything the little girl did, the world they lived in, and the house they found themselves in general?

Lucy patted the side of the door that she’d been leaning on and smiled, putting everything she couldn’t put into words into her smile, “Okay. We’re just going to be…”

“In the kitchen,” Wyatt added, always coming in when she needed him, “Eh, cleaning …”

They’d already cleaned everything in the kitchen, but she went right along with it.

“If you need anything just yell out to us,” Lucy said, taking a step back with Wyatt. When Hannah waved at them like, yeah, I got this, bye parents, Lucy almost broke out into laughter. Their daughter, yes, the one she had with Wyatt, was something to behold. She was bright, funny, and had the same sass she knew she’d had as a child, especially for me time.

And she knew where Hannah got it from. But...she hesitated in speaking up, in saying anything to Wyatt about it, because of the look on his face as he took one last look at Hannah. He was fascinated or enthralled, whatever world you wanted to use for it. He was clearly in love, head over heels, for this little girl and all her antics. Especially at this moment.

She could see it in the warmth in his eyes, the small uptick at the corner of his mouth, and the way his shoulders totally relaxed for the first time since they’d gotten here. When Lucy meant totally relax, she meant every single little bit of his body was loose and happy looking.

How could she, in this very moment, tell Wyatt that this is what she used to do when she was little? How “me time” was a sacred thing upheld in the Preston household no matter what day or time of the day. Would he look at her in the same way if she told him that her mom used to prop her up with a pillow on the rare occasion Lucy decided to have her “me time” on the couch? Would he be as in awe and have...so much love in his gaze if he turned to Lucy and saw that it had all come from her?

She’d like to think so. And not a deep and dark part of her that wished that whatever was between them would explode, would reach out, would bring them together. They’d had their talk, they’d had small moments, they’d seen the electricity that came easy and strong between them.

So Lucy would wait. She’d take her time. And she’d let him discover...just...everything about their lives together and what parts of each other Hannah wielded in her small body and mind.

When they entered the kitchen she didn't waste any time.

“What are we going to do?” Lucy asked, joining Wyatt as they cleaned, tidied, and put whatever was left over from breakfast, which wasn't a lot and was just an excuse to keep busy.

“Now?”

“And the moment after, and the one following that. She’s...wonderful, every little bit of her, but what do we do next?”

“Take it a step at a time? Together?”

Lucy nodded. She knew they were in this together, had no doubt about it, but it was nice to hear Wyatt say that. It chased away the doubts or the creeping feeling of “can I actually do this” that hovered just at the edges of her mind.

As if sensing she needed something else to ground her, to ground _them_ , Wyatt step close and took her hand. It wasn't the first time he'd done it, or the second, and it was a comfort to realize that it wouldn't be the last. This house was built on love, patience, and companionship. Wyatt was her companion. Her friend. Her rock (along with Rufus and Jiya of course, but in a slightly different way because...feelings.)

Lucy’s mind blanked out for a second when he grinned at her with “that” grin. She almost missed his words and only barely pieced them together.

“Together. That’s not going to change. I’m here with you, every step of the way, okay?”

Lucy nodded, giving his had a return squeeze, “Yeah, together.”

And maybe...well…not maybe. She most certainly could warm to the thought of all of this with him by her side.

Neither of them let go when he asked a question geared towards clearly distracting her. Which kind of backfired and threw her into the deep end of her feelings about her office, aka her sanctuary.

Lucy figured things would be like this for a while as they “rediscovered” their lives.

“How does your office look like? Still you?”

_You got this. Remember what Jiya said. This is your life and you've most certainly faced bigger foes than an office._

“Surprisingly so,” she replying while smiling. Maybe she could channel a little of Wyatt's calm and the feeling that she got when he grinned at her, into her face, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this…”

“Me too,” he easily agreed, eyes looking right through her for a second.

Was he as curious about their lives as she was?

Did he wonder about their first “I love you’s,” like she had when she looked across the table during breakfast and watched Wyatt help with Hannah?

“But the stuff in that room...it’s me Wyatt. And it’s you, and it’s Hannah.”

Did they curl up together, lost in a good book? Aka the cheesiest thing to some, but something huge to her, because spending time with someone in a comfortable silence is a feat that many can't conquer and don't see the value of, like she did.

Like sleeping, silence was vulnerability. It was about being so open and comfortable with someone that you're your most honest and true self. Lucy, whichever version you thought of, didn't have many people in her life. But those that were in it were specifically chosen and vetted by her instincts, experience, and time spent with the person.

And even after that, spending time with someone, letting quiet fill up the space between them with only turning pages breaking the silence...well it was an absolute trust and openness that she'd always thought slightly impossible.

But here she was, in a home with a man she could feel herself falling in love with a little more with each passing day and adventure, contemplating and thinking about the way that their lives had come together.

“You mean the toys?”

“Not just the toys. My office has always been my sanctuary. Or parts of it have been. In my office I could escape from my mom, my sister, from everything.”

“Kind of sounds like what I have in the garage. Self care. And now that I think about it, that’s what Hannah is doing right now with her “me” time. Probably got it from you.”

Wyatt always knew when she needed a lifeline to get her moving, get her talking, and pull her out of her mind and the spiraling thoughts that came with it.

The smile he was throwing her way grew when Lucy returned it.

_When did he get this close?_

Lucy swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and thought about the hypothetical quiet moments in each others presence. It was here. In this very instant. And yes, her palms were sweaty, the room felt charged, and she could probably stand here with him for only God knows how long, aka till Hannah called. But it was here. The silence. The comfort.

She felt content.

“Probably got it from both of us.” Lucy winced a bit at how breathy her reply sounded. She wasn’t a swooning, breathy maiden. She was just...a woman realizing how close the object of her affections was and how alone they were for the first time in days. It was a lot to take in.

The thoughts came unbidden to her again, the ones about the other Wyatt and Lucy.

Did they do this? Did they share quiet moments in the kitchen, listening out for Hannah? Did they steal away for a minute alone where they could sneak in kisses full of wandering hands and mouths? Did they?

“Agreed,” Wyatt answered. Lucy’s eyes widened when he replied in the same tone, breathy and definitely aware of what was happening between them, “So you were saying? About your office?

“Yeah, there’s books in there that I’m positive are yours and books that have to be Hannah’s.”

“Maybe you’re really, really into children’s books these days.”

Lucy huffed in laughter and curled her fingers a little more around his hand, “Or maybe you are. I get the feeling that my special room, somehow, in this reality, is always open for you.”

His gaze turned soft. She wanted to freeze the moment, carry it with her as evidence that she wasn’t alone in this world, whenever life or doubt tried to through her for a lot, as if always did to everyone. No one had ever really looked at her like this.

Yes, her mom, Amy, Rufus, and Jiya cared. There was fondness there. Love. Family. But not like this. None of them had this soft gaze that made her want to trace every single facet of his face, get to know him like no else had, and open herself up in the same way in return.

It was vulnerability that only a lover was allowed.

And she wasn’t scared at the moment to admit that maybe she was on her way to that with Wyatt.

“On that, I think we’re even,” he said, tilting his head back as if to signal somewhere else in the house.

“How so?”

Did Lucy spend time in his sanctuary like Wyatt did with hers?

“Well, the car in the garage, the one this Wyatt has been fixing, apparently with Rufus’s help? You got if for him.”

“I got you…him…some junk?” Lucy almost facepalmed. Good going. Calling his car ‘junk.’ “Is that supposed to be a good thing?”

Wyatt caught her wince and stepped closer, his presence like a warm blanket over her, making it seem like it was just them two against the world. He brought their joined hands up and kissed hers.

_Nope. Not a swooner. Will not._

“There’s…a lot we don’t know about each other, and probably a lot we’re gonna have to talk about and you know, figure out, all things considered…but this…giving me or him, or whatever, this junk, so I can work on it…that’s the greatest gift you, she, could give either version of Wyatt. I promise.”

_Ok, maybe a little bit of swooning._

“That’s…I’m glad.”

His thumb tapped against her in a calming manner, “And …there’s a frame out there that I’m pretty sure the other me made with his own hands, containing a card from you. Everything in that garage screams you…Lucy. Everything.”

There was nothing she could say to that. She was just in...awe. The other versions of them had blended so well together. No...not blended. They’d come together to share everything and had become stronger, more intimate, for it. She just knew it.

And she knew, not hoped, that it would happen to them as well. Maybe not in the same pace and definitely not the same beginning, but it would. Especially with the way that Wyatt was looking at her and the way she knew she was looking at him. Doubt, meet window.

Wyatt continued. “These people, the other versions of us…they weren’t here by mistake. They weren’t figuring stuff out. They were married, in every sense of the word.”

“I…for me to allow others in my space …that’s big. That’s …you’re right. I knew it then. I knew it when I saw those books. I just …didn’t know how to put it into words.”

“Aren’t you the one with the words?” he joked, trying to break the tension that had once again befallen them, and failing. You don’t just talk about stuff like this and not expect it to leave you...breathless and overwhelmed and excited.

“Not right now. I just…this is big. I said that before, but…me, willingly giving up my space. It’s huge.”

“Well, having a kid and a house is big too.”

Lucy felt herself nodding absentmindedly, the hand that was free carding through her hair in a nervous gesture, “I know. It’s just all blowing my mind, and I’m having a hard time focusing.”

He came closer, though this time his hand let go of hers and both then found purchase on her shoulders. “Look…it’s not going to get easier…”

_Were his eyes always this beautiful?_

“Gee, thanks…” Lucy answered, trying to center herself and failing, as he leaned forward, not in a romantic way, but in a ‘I’m going to give you a pep talk Wyatt Logan style’. But all he did was make it so his eyes, mouth, cheeks, smile, just everything, was the sole focus of her hungry gaze.

“You didn’t let me finish,” he gently admonished.

Lucy tilted her head closer to his and she knew she hadn’t been imagining things when his eyes skirted down to her lips for the briefest moment. In fact, she might’ve missed it if they weren’t this close, “You were kind of difficult.”

He smiled, “You loved it, admit it. You hate it when people do your bidding all the time.”

“It couldn’t hurt you to listen a little more than you do,” she retorted, matching his playful tone.

“Boring,” he continued the joke. “But seriously,” he added, giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, “we’re gonna be fine fine. We are. Now, I’m going to need you to say it back to me, because it’s one thing to hear it and another one to say it. Plus, believe it or not, It’d do me good to hear it too.”

Bringing her hands up she placed them on his elbows. At the end of the day, and no matter happened between them, this right here would keep her focused, and help with the knowledge that they’d be okay. She hoped her gaze showed the feelings and sentiment he provoked inside of her, “We’re gonna be fine. We’re together, after all.” 

Wyatt wanted to say more, she could see in the way his mouth opened and how he swallowed in preparation. Was this the moment that they would cross the line and talk about “them," have the conversation they’d put on hold for good reasons but that kept tugging at them at every turn?

“MOMMY! POPS!”

Nope. Because Hannah was calling.

Everything was forgotten in their dash to check what Hannah needed. Had she fallen? Was she sick? Was she cold? Did they forget to give her something?

But Hannah, well, she was perfectly fine. Her arms were up and reaching out towards them, hands opening and closing in a “come here” way. And she was smiling.

_What a way to give me a heart attack._

“Me time is over. Wanna watch Vampirina with me?”

Lucy took a breath and felt like she’d run a marathon. She knew this wasn’t going to be the last time that happened in her desperate attempts to make sure this little girl needed for nothing.

“Hannah, you scared us,” Lucy chided her. Wyatt rubbed circles on her back gently and she appreciated it.

Then the lower lip trembling happened. The ultimate weapon.

“I sowwy. Scaring people is mean. I didn’t want to scare you, Mommy,” Hannah responded in a low voice, face scrunching up.

“No, no …don’t cry baby,” Wyatt said as he left her side and scrambled for the right words to make the look on Hannah’s face disappear. “It was nothing.” Lucy hoped that he could feel the glare she threw at his back. Giving them heart attacks was not ‘nothing.’ “We can watch whatever you want.”

“Vampirina!” she answered, scrunched up face and oncoming tears gone like a light switch.

Parenting was throwing her for loop after loop already.

“Eh…sure,” he found himself replying as he maneuvered himself onto the couch, throwing Lucy a look that said, ‘Help!’

Lucy shrugged, matching his confused look. No amount of schooling had taught her what Vampirina was. History in a crunch, she was your girl. Blues Clues, she had that covered. Vampirina, not so much.

Hannah took over as soon as Lucy and Wyatt were settled on opposite sides of her. With a practiced ease she turned her body, iPad still in her hands of course, and placed her little feet in Lucy’s lap and curled her body into Wyatt’s.

Lucy had to scoot a little closer to see what Hannah was doing, “So, tell me about Vampirina …”

Hannah’s mouth dropped open in shock. Lucy’s mind reeled back for a moment when she realized how much like Wyatt she looked at the moment.

“How could you forget about her, Mommy? She’s this really awesome….”

Lucy listened in rapt attention, carefully taking in and storing everything that Hannah said. Because this, all of this right here, on this couch and coming from this little girl, felt important. More important than history or any book/fact she’d cataloged along her long career and time as a time traveler.

It was a scary thought. But one that didn’t stop her from listening in as Hannah told her about the Hauntley’s, their B&B, and why they moved from Transylvania to Pennsylvania.

<\-------->

Later, when her head finally hit the pillow, Lucy would congratulate herself on making it through the day. What she thought had been impossible had actually been something conquerable and in many instances, between the running around and trying to figure out what was happening, manageable.

Jiya was right. This was her life now.

Not another Lucy’s life.

Hers.

And it was brilliant already.

She'd learned the ins and outs of Hannah’s show “Vampirina” and will admit to searching the web for everything and anything she could find out about the little vampire in hopes of...just having the knowledge? No. She did it so she could impress Hannah if it came down to it, as if the little girls opinion already mattered to her. And it did.

Packing that one away for later.

Two episodes later Wyatt and her had a grumpy, albeit cute, Hannah huffing and puffing at the table as she drew what her and Wyatt thought to be Uncle Rufus. (He was holding Chocodiles and thrusting them into the air in victory, with what they assumed was Hannah right next to him.)

Once more she had to thank Jiya. This brilliant woman knew their lives like the back of her hand in comparison to Lucy and Wyatt. And she could admit to herself that..it bothered her a bit. A tiny itty bitty bit that someone else knew how to run, live, and make due in this house and their life with Hannah. But more than anything, she was grateful that they weren’t alone in this.

Jiya had given them the heads up about lunch, Hannah’s daily schedule, and even the daring adventure that was bath time. Apparently Hannah loved bath time. Unlike Lucy she was made for the water, adventurous, and a skilled bubble beard technician.

A thought floated across Lucy’s mind, a vision really, of what days in this house looked like. Definitely repetitive because kids kind of liked that and she’d always liked structure herself. But this was different. This was a home. This was comfort and love all wrapped up in one and she couldn’t wait to discover what they did tomorrow, or the next day even if it was sitting down and breaking down what happening in this or that episode of Vampirina.

She felt...not happy...happy was something that people chased around forever without fully grasping it. She felt...content. And that right there was rarer that anything they’d encountered in the past days, weeks, or months.

In the dark of her room, well the room she shared with Wyatt, which she wasn’t going to touch upon either, lest she start thinking about the implications of what a shared bed meant or the lack of tons of pillows like she had on her bed, which led her to think about all the cuddling that happened here. Dear lord, she was on a rambling thought and needed to pull herself together.

Ok, let’s start again. In the dark of her room, blankets tucked up under her chin and curled up on her side, she could admit that she felt content here with Wyatt and Hannah.

She felt content cleaning up with Wyatt, his presence comforting every step of the way.

She felt content by the touch of his hand and the look in his eyes every time he looked at her.

She felt content running around the backyard and trying to survive the “evil” known as Hannahzilla. (Apparently Wyatt and Hannah shared a love for monster movies? She’d have to look that up too.)

She even felt content sitting and having dinner with Hannah and Wyatt, picking up Hannah’s clothes when they went flying everywhere in her haste to jump in the shower, and just watching Wyatt and Hannah chat by the tub, Hannah with her hands smack dab on Wyatt's face, of course constructing another epic bubble beard to match her own.

Lucy knew what this feeling was.

Closing her eyes she felt her throat tighten and her hands clench into her blankets. There was no use in denying that all of this was leaving her shaken, overwhelmed, and thrilled all at once.

This is what family felt like. And if she felt all of this (with Hannah, with Wyatt) after one day, she couldn’t imagine how it would feel after another day. Or a week. Or a month.

And it was in the darkness, in the safety of its embrace amidst all she was feeling, she could admit that she couldn’t wait for what the next day would bring if it meant having her family by her side.

End of Chapter 10.


	11. Patty's & Community (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Wyatt head out into the big wide world with Hannah. Also, car seats are the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fluff begins and you better get ready for the panic to move to the wayside and feels to START TO GROW!
> 
> Remember, we're doing alternating views with Lyra doing Lucy and Lizzie doing Wyatt. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! More Hannah coming your way next week! <3

It was clear from the sudden weight that dropped on her mid-sleep, that life in the Logan household was never going to be as predictable as Lucy initially thought.

Now that Hannah knew that Wyatt was sleeping downstairs she'd decided to come terrorise her mother and make her jump out of her skin. Yes, Hannah looked cute, like ridiculously cute where she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that she was so cute or how they'd created such a kid with those beautiful eyes. She was wearing her PJ’s from the previous night, hair rumpled, and marks on her face from the blanket she'd slept with.

Even then, she was the most beautiful thing that Lucy had seen.

Hannah was rubbing at her eyes, mouth open wide in a yawn, when Lucy finally settled and looked at the kid who was practically sitting on top of her and poking her cheek.

Lucy had no idea what to do besides greet the child and groan at the time. It was way too early for all of, waves mentally at the thing that had become her life, all of this.

Hannah must've sensed that because she plopped her body over Lucy's and instantly relaxed. Her face was tucked under Lucy's chin, a hand gripping the collar of her shirt, and little warm huffs of air hitting Lucy's neck.

She felt frozen for a second, body rigid and unsure of what she should do or how she should react. She'd never had a kid tucked/wrapped around her in such a manner. 

Was this a common occurrence? Did she wake up both of them, when they actually slept in the same bed unlike this version or Lucy and Wyatt, and just...cuddle with them? Because that's what this was, cuddling. 

And in this room, in the quiet of the morning with no one else around, Lucy could look down at the child and take her in to her heart's content. Hannah was a tiny little thing. Yes, you'd be able to tell by holding her in your arms like Lucy had done yesterday. And yes you could tell by just looking at her standing there in front of you, pout ready to take you down if you didn't agree to run around with her, Hannahzilla style. But it was something different having her close like this.

She was warm, soft, and still smelled the baby soap they'd used last night. Her hair kept tickling Lucy's neck and when she lifted a hand to brush it back she came to the realization that it was just as soft as it looked.

Maybe this is how kids got you. How they drew you in and made it so you'd tear the world apart for them. Cuz Lucy would do that. And like a lot of things in the last day or so, she wasn't ready to break down and try to understand why she felt this bond, this kinship, with someone she'd just met.

Letting out a deep sigh, she was caught off guard by a yawn.

Maybe she could rest her eyes for just a second. Hannah wasn't going anywhere and she wouldn't mind relaxing for a little bit longer and sleeping some more. 

Lucy was asleep before she knew it, arm slipping from Hannah's hair and keeping her close.

<\-------->

It was Wyatt who woke them up about an hour later.

He was closer than expected, leaning down towards her with a hand on her shoulder where he'd probably gently nudged her awake.

It was a surreal experience to wake up, think it's just another day in the Lifeboat, and have the weight a small body partially on top of you to remind you that you're not.

And Wyatt. Damn it. The way he was looking at her and Hannah. She couldn't decipher it or even begin to understand what it meant. He looked happy, definitely content, but there was more there. 

More than she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Lucy wanted to ask him what was running through his mind and what made that damn half smile appear and a small flush to cross his cheeks. She wanted to but she didn't. If she asked him then he'd know that he could ask her in return. And maybe she was a little scared to have Wyatt Logan, the first man in a long time she’d thought romantically about, to ask her about what she'd felt and is still feeling in this house.

Plus it was just a bit too early for all of this. Maybe after a shower, food, and a drink could she analyze the, dare she say, fond look on Wyatt's face.

Ok, after.

Wyatt explained that he'd woken up to a house way to quiet and found them curled up together. Not wanting to disturb them he'd showered, changed, and then started looking for what to do for breakfast. He thought it was time to get up and he'd been right.

Lucy looked down and Hannah. She was like an octopus, legs and arms over Lucy and still looking comfortable as hell and like there's nowhere else she'd rather be.

The decision on how to free herself from Hannahzilla was taken out of her hands when Wyatt gently transferred her from the bed into his arms. Lucy felt a little exposed and sleep rumpled and like she'd walked into some domestic fantasy of the deepest desires of her mind. 

Wyatt looked domestic. And it was...undeniably hot.

He gave her a little tilt of his head like he was trying to figure her out and she was glad she didn't ask him about the indecipherable look on his face earlier.

Nope. Again, too early.

Giving her a little nod, Wyatt then left her to take a shower and get ready for the day. Lucy watched him, the nature ease he had with Hannah and how her head was tucked under his chin like Hannah had done to her earlier.

When he was out of the room she didn't cover her flushed face with a pillow like she wanted to. Instead she headed towards the shower.

She needed a cold one. 

<\-------->

Later when breakfast was done and Hannah was having her established me time and Lucy & Wyatt were cleaning, Wyatt asked, “What the hell is a Patty?”

She didn’t turn to look at him, engaged in a battle with the grease on the pan from breakfast. Neither of them liked household chores (despite Lucy’s affinity for clean and organized rooms) so they decided to go halfsies and switch off on days where dishes were in need of cleaning.

“Like a hamburger Patty?”

Wyatt hummed and deposited a couple dishes next to her, “That’s what the calendar says. Patty. Is Patty a person? A thing?”

Lucy shrugged. Maybe they had another friend that Jiya forgot to mention? She did just get back from something traumatic and no one would blame her for the mixup.

“Would she really mind if we change it up?” 

They were interrupted by peals of laughter from the other room. Neither moved. They weren’t veterans of child rearing in one day but they knew that Hannah would call out if she needed them.

Wyatt came to stand next to her, hip and body leaning against the counter. It was his turn to dry the dishes. “Call Jiya?

Lucy nodded, “Call Jiya.”

Wyatt nodded and pointed behind him to signal that he was going to check on Hannah. Who were they kidding. Even if they knew that she would call them when she needed them THEY WORRIED.

Lucy returned his nod and dried her hands with a cloth that matched the rest of the kitchen. Seriously, the kitchen and everything else in the house was designed with love and care that she had never seen before.

Their friend answered on the second ring when Lucy got her hands on her phone.

“Jiya? I’m sorry to bother you, again. All we’ve done lately is bother you. And I know you...okay, shutting up now. Yes. I’ll ask my question. No, you don’t mind. Yes, that’s what friends are for.”

Honestly she’d never had a female friend like this. A friend who cared for her, who called her out on her insecurities, and who was there no matter what. It was something she had with Amy and that she didn’t think she needed anymore of. She’d been wrong. Jiya cared. Jiya called her out on her insecurities. Jiya was there no matter what.

And Lucy liked it. It made her feel safe and cared for. 

Jiya called her name and she realized she had lost track of the conversation. A rambling sentence of two from Lucy got her mind and the conversation back on track.

“The...eh...the food calendar says Patty and we were just wondering….oh, it’s a place. Always?”

According to Jiya, going to Patty’s Diner was a weekly engagement. There were few places were Hannah would actually sit still and eat. Patty’s was one of them. And the day had come to take her.

Part of her wanted to ask Jiya if she’d like to come with them. Lucy was willing to pick her up and everything. And it wasn’t just because her friend would act as a buffer between Hannah and Wyatt and everything they’d found themselves in. It was also...because she wanted to get to know the woman more. Also, she wanted to see how much her relationship had changed with Rufus. After the “glee” he took in their situation it kind of served him right. 

“Okay. Yeah, and the address to the diner is on the GPS? Okay. Yeah, of course, we can do that.”

Thank you and goodbyes were said before Lucy hang up.

Wyatt’s voice from behind her made her jump a little. She was way too focused on the conversation she was having with Jiya that she hadn’t even heard him come in. 

“Going to have to put a bell on you!”

Wyatt let out what Lucy could only fathom was a snort. Coming from Wyatt...it was kind of adorable.

“I guess I’m getting the car keys. And the…do kids Hannah’s age need a car seat?”

Lucy’s eyes widened and she looked at Wyatt in confusion. Did kids her size still wear car seats? Was their car safe enough? Did they have to drive a specific speed limit to make sure she was ok?

She went to call Jiya again, hands already having unlocked the phone, “Eh, I can call Jiya again.”

“No, wait,” Wyatt cut in, hand placed over the one about to hit ‘Contacts.’ “There’s Google. And, I’m guessing if we do need one, it’ll be in the garage. Let her rest. We can figure this out. Plus, compared to some of the things we’ve done, this will be a piece of cake.

Lucy didn’t search for Jiya’s contact but she also didn’t lower her hand to escape Wyatt’s touch. It was grounding. And she needed that right now, “You’re right, it’s just…”

“We’re parents.”

The way he said it...with such ease. She was jealous of him. The way he just fell into all of this and accepted it. It was mind blowing and like his hand, comforting.

“You think the fear is normal?”

Lucy knew the answer. How could you not? But maybe putting the question out into the world and hearing his response would kill the panic in her that was fretting over what kind of car seat Hannah needed or how fast they could drive with her in the car.

Wyatt’s other hand came up and pulled the phone from her hand, placing it on the counter with one hand and still holding hers with the other. “I do. I really, really do.”

The smile came unbidden to her. The lightness and warmth that followed also came unbidden. From her cheeks, and she bet, all the way to her toes when he returned the smile.

“So, I guess we go to Patty’s?”

“Yup. It’s apparently what we do and we wouldn’t want to break tradition, would we?”

Their eyes met and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel like everything had faded away and it was just Lucy and Wyatt, first time parents about to take on a kid and a carseat.

But like Wyatt said, it couldn’t be that hard could it?

Half an hour later, the evil carseat finally in its place, they realized it could.

<\-------->

Hannah gets a hold of both of their hands and practically drags them into Patty's Diner. As soon as they're through the door, two things happen. One, Hannah yells out, “Hullo Miss Patty!” Two, she made her way to a table by the window as if they always sat there and Lucy bet they did.

A woman, who she assumed was Miss Patty, waved at Hannah from the counter. She was younger than Lucy expected to be owning a dinner named after her with brown hair up in a ponytail and a uniform to match the other waitresses in the diner.

Hannah slid into a booth and pulled Lucy down next to her. Not two seconds after Wyatt sat across from them that Miss Patty came to their table, ready to take their order.

“Hello sweet pea! Wyatt, Lucy. How are you all doing today?”

It was odd to have someone she'd never seen in her entire life, know her so well or look at her with such familiarity. And she couldn't call Jiya right now to ask for more information.

“Fine. We’re…fine…” Lucy answered.

Wyatt sounded just as uncertain as she did, Yeah, what…she said.”

Miss Patty tilted her head in confusion before looking between them. “You don’t sound so fine.”

Lucy looked back at Wyatt in a look that clearly said,  _ Help! _

How do you tell a total stranger who knows you that after a perilous time traveling through time they had lost Lucy's sister before hopping on the time machine again to get her sister back. When they did get Amy back they had to deal with the uh oh they'd made by accident aka Hannah.

A foot pressed against hers below the table. She didn't pull back.

Something shifted in Wyatt's face. Oh, he was about to put on the charm. “Just a couple of rough days. It’s good to be getting back to our routine.”

Miss Patty accepted the answer with a nod and Lucy thanked the God's that had gifted Wyatt with that smile. “You want the usual or are you craving something different?”

The usual would look less  suspicious. The usual is perfect.

“The usual please.”

“Coming right up, dears,” Miss Patty answers, putting her notepad away and coming back back with a coloring sheet and a mini pack of crayons.

Lucy wants to say something. She wants to fill the silence that’s grown between her and Wyatt. But she doesn’t know what to say. This is the first time out with Hannah, in public, and with no Jiya & Rufus as supervision. It’s just them. And if Miss Patty recognized them, imagine who else did? 

So she just kept her eyes firmly on what Hannah was coloring, answering her questions on what color looked better, and helping color the small areas when asked to. The one time she did look up Wyatt was messing with his phone. He didn’t look annoyed that she was practically speechless and didn’t know what to say. If anything, he looked content.

Also, was he taking a picture of them? His phone was a little too high for a second and when he noticed her looking he ducked his head down almost shyly. She’d ask him later.

When the food came everything was cleared off the table aka crayons and coloring papers were shoved to the side because “FOOD WAS HERE” according to Hannah. And unlike at home where she’d accepted help, she wasn’t having it here.

“I’m a big girl. I don’t need your help!”

The concentrated look on her face as she digs into her macaroni and cheese makes both of them laugh. And Hannah, who they were already expecting to look at them with an affronted look, couldn’t care less. She had macaroni and cheese in front of her. Parents could wait later.

Hands curled around her burger Lucy looked at Wyatt, knowing that she couldn’t escape any longer from his gaze or just talking to him. His smile was stunning and ridiculously sweet. And it threw her off.

“That she gets from you,” Lucy blurted out before taking a bite of her burger.

Wyatt takes a fry and points it at her before eating it, “What, the stubbornness?”

Lucy swallowed before answering, “It couldn’t just be the eyes.”

Those beautiful and spellbinding eyes.

He popped another fry into his mouth before flicking his gaze down to Hannah before locking eyes with Lucy’s again, “We did good. The other us, I mean.”

“Yeah?” She didn’t mean for her voice to sound so hopeful, yet it did.

“Yeah. We did good.”

Hannah interrupted them, something they both knew would be the new norm. It was a welcome interruption that made any tension that was building between them (because there was, you don’t talk about your new child, look at someone the way Wyatt was looking at her, and not feel like the world outside of this booth melted away to nothing.) 

She didn’t mean to interrupt them. They just couldn’t take their eyes off of her when she made an airplane noise and guided her spoon to her mouth. How could anyone not love...or just feel anything for this girl when she looked so proud of herself.

Even after just having just met her, Lucy was asking herself that same question.

Wyatt nudged her with his foot underneath the table and kept his foot there. She pressed back into him as a thank you and they continued talking with an ease that Lucy had never thought possible.

And if her eyes caught Wyatt’s, every once in a while, looking at her and Hannah like they were his...everything, well, that was her business. Their business.

<\-------->

An hour later they exit the restaurant, hunger sated, and don't make it further than the parking lot before Hannah’s eyes land on something across the street.

Lucy doesn't know why, maybe instinct, but she puts a hand on Hannah's shoulders right as she's about to bolt. It was a farmers market.

“Hmmn, look. It’s a farmer’s market. Christopher's Way.” Lucy mumbled, taking it all in. There were rows upon rows of brown stalls selling vegetables, bread, spreads, flowers, and more. 

By Hannah's excited face and how she was practically jumping up and down in place, it was probably somewhere they took Hannah every week after Patty's.

“Can we mom? Can weeeeeeeeeee?”

There were probably people that knew them at that farmers market. People who wanted to talk and ask how they were doing. She couldn't just avoid them like she did at the diner. And honestly, she was a bit nervous.

“Well, we should be going back home.”

Not to be deterred she looked over at Wyatt. “Pops pleeeeeeeeeeeeease.”

It looked like he didn't even take a moment to understand or even realize that his kid was playing him like a fiddle before he said, “I guess we can for a little bit.”

Lucy shook her head as they headed over to the farmers market  “Wyatt Logan, you’re a pushover.”

He didn't deny. In fact, he looked proud. Back straight and chest puffed out he gave her a look. One that clearly said, 'And I know it.’

I mean...Hannah was ridiculously cute. And she knew what she was doing with those big eyes and that cute nose. Oh and her pout. Right now Lucy was resisting the pout. But how long until she gave in? She knew she would do anything for Hannah, that was undeniable despite the little time they'd spent together. If not for Hannah then for the woman who had raised her before this Lucy took her place. And that pout...it could make people give in like it did Wyatt.

For now, she'd resist. One of them had to be the sensible 'I'm not gonna give in to that pout’ parent to balance the one who gave in aka Wyatt.

It's easier than expected, walking around and talking to people, hitting up stall after stall. People did recognize them, that was easy to tell from the look in their eyes or how they lit up at Hannah’s trailblazing conversations. They were known in this community. Loved by its residents. And honestly, it made her feel happy. It made her feel at home and safe, like she could unwind.

So even though she was just meeting these people for the first time she made sure to shake and every hand, remember each name, and remember that she was married to Wyatt and had a kid. The latter was hard enough, but the Wyatt thing, well, people could tell when things were off by body language and the way they held themselves around each other.

Without saying anything she knew Wyatt understood this. He stood close to her, placed his hand on the small of her back to help guide her away from stalls when people got a bit too chatty, and even called them “his girls” once or twice.

And Lucy liked it. It made her preen a little. Not that she was going to tell anyone that.

He upped the game and made her feel blush and week in the knees when he came back to them with his hands behind his back. It must've been the right decision on Wyatt's part because Hannah started jumping up and down once more.

Lucy wished she could take a picture of this moment, freeze it in time so she could look at it over and over. She'd never seen someone so happy to receive a bouquet of daffodils. And then Wyatt upped the game and made her want to seriously immortalize this moment so she could look at it from every angle in the privacy of her office.

Wyatt handed her a bouquet of sunflowers.

She didn't remember telling him that they were her favorites. That her mother would buy her one every time they headed out to the supermarket and how Lucy would care for it with the same attentiveness older Lucy was taking in caring for Hannah. She didn't remember telling him but here they were.

“Flowers for my girls.”

Hannah yells in glee and launches herself at his legs, extremely careful not to mess up her daffodils.

But Wyatt...well his eyes were on Lucy. They were expectant and happy. His hand was still extended towards her, flowers in his grasp.

It felt like there was more to this moment. Things not spoken but known as she took  _ her  _ sunflowers.

Lucy felt the wind knocked out of her and sighed happily, “Thank you.”

Wyatt cared for her. There was no denying that. But maybe there was more. Maybe this had spiralled into something neither of them were truly ready for but that was present nonetheless.

“You’re welcome.”

Maybe it was love.

<\-------->

By the time they got home and had dinner, everyone was exhausted. And by everyone she meant everyone. Even Hannah who was trying to act like she wasn’t sleepy at all but was failing to sell the lie with every yawn.

“Okay, munchkin, time for your bath and bed.”

Lucy and Wyatt were on opposite sides of the couch hoping and praying that Hannah would stop running and give in. Once she had a bath they could put her to bed and then start working on unwinding themselves. It wasn’t easy taking care of Hannahzilla no matter how cute she was.

Also she wasn’t going to tell anyone that she had become quite fond of calling the blue eyed adorableness that was Hannah, Hannahzilla. It was her secret to tell. And right now, all she wanted was to help the quickly losing her grasp on staying awake toddler to bed.

Hannah looked up at them in contemplation (way too much contemplation for how tiny she was. She turned to Wyatt and her eyes got impossibly wide, “Can I sleep with you and mom tonight?”

Lucy saw that she got the reaction she expected when Wyatt practically melted and came close to her, crouching down in front of her. Oh, she was good. And she had Wyatt wrapped around her finger.

“You’re a big girl now, aren’t you?”

Maybe she didn’t have him so tightly wound like Lucy thought. She inched her way around the couch, stopping right behind Hannah.

The pout in her voice was clear as day even though Lucy couldn’t see her face. “No.”

Hannah jumped a little when Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder. She again looked between them, contemplating an escape route and giving up. Her bottom lip now stuck out.

Wyatt laughed as Hannah turned to both of them and held onto Lucy’s jean clad legs and Wyatt’s sweater. His very nice looking sweater that maybe Lucy had been admiring all day because how can a man look impossibly soft in a purple sweater?

He poked at Hannah’s lip and she grumbled, turning into Lucy’s legs and wrapping her arms around them.

“That’s not what you said earlier.”

He looked at Lucy as if to say, ‘Impossibly smart this one?’

Lucy agreed. She was going from one parent to another, trying to play them like a whistle.

“But I wanna!” Hannah groused.

She’d never seen Hannah like this. Well, in her limited time with Hannah she’d never seen her like this. Hannah was bold, opinionated, and deviously smart. But she wasn’t rude.

Lucy couldn’t crouch down to match Wyatt and meet Hannah’s line of sight, so she placed a hand on Hannah’s hair, fingers gently carding through her hair. It was still as soft as this morning and probably would be for the day after and the one after.

“What’s going on, baby? Are you scared of something?” Lucy asked. Maybe Hannah was having nightmares. I mean, at her age it was possible. And maybe when she had them she’d crawl into bed with them. She’d done it this morning with Lucy so why not with both of them?

They could barely hear her answer.

“What?”

Hannah pulled back and looked up at Lucy, eyes wet with unshed tears, “I don’t wanna Pops to sleepy on the couch.”

Wyatt stood up in surprise and Lucy stopped too, hand pausing in Hannah’s hair, “What?”

“If Hannah’s there, you sleep in your room,” Hannah explained, hands finally releasing her legs and gesturing at both of them, “Together!”

Lucy was...speechless, honestly. Looking over to Wyatt she knew he agreed. He looked as speechless as she did.

Hannah groaned and tipped forward again into Lucy’s legs, this time one of her hands holding onto Lucy’s jean leg and the other reaching out to Wyatt who now sat next to them on the couch.

She gave in without thinking about what would come next, how they would even sleep next to each other, or what that would mean, sleeping in the same bed that they’d possibly CREATED Hannah in, and said, “Honey, Mommy and Pops are going to sleep in their bed tonight. And you are going to sleep in yours, okay?”

“You promise?”

Without hesitation they both said, “We promise.”   
  


End of Chapter 11.


	12. Patty's & Community (Wyatt's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Wyatt head out into the big wide world with Hannah, and Wyatt has tons of feels. Because of course he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ...we're back, with Wyatt's POV of all that's going on, and a prelude to ...eh, better things to come for Lucy and Wyatt as a couple.

If you’d asked Wyatt Logan about it, he would have told you he’d reached peak cheesiness a few days ago. Everything that had transpired since they’d gotten off the Lifeboat, ostensibly in a mission to get Amy back and nothing else, and had found himself not just married to Lucy – the woman he could now admit he had feelings for – but father to a toddler, had been an all-out assault on his emotions, and he’d been nothing but a walking, talking mess of feelings for the last few days.

So, in a way, it really felt like he’d reached the high point. There was no way to get even more emotional.  
  
That, of course, was before he walked in on what was supposed to be his and Lucy’s room and had found her, his wife, curled up with their kid.  
  
He didn’t think anyone would blame him for tearing up at the sight.  
  
Family wasn’t a thing Wyatt Logan knew well. Sure, he’d had his grandparents for a little bit, and his grandfather for a long time, but he’d always been acutely aware that the people who’d created him, the ones who were supposed to love him above everything else, just didn’t care enough.  
  
Mother had been more interested in keeping a husband than having a kid.  Father had been …well, Wyatt didn’t like to use words as abusive, but he was self-aware enough to realize that no human being should treat anyone, much less their kid, the way his father had treated him.  
  
So this thing …the casual contentment of being together, the way Hannah lay curled into her mother, the way Lucy cradled her in her sleep, and even the way they had, probably without noticing, left a spot that looked like it belonged to him, was enough to make his heart contract painfully, and tears come to his eyes.  
  
Thankfully, there was no one to see him lose it. He had time to take one deep breath, two, three and then just stand there and …savor it.  
  
His girls. They were perfect. Hannah’s face, in sleep, looked more like his than he’d allowed himself to accept before, and yet she still retained enough of her mother that she was unmistakably Lucy’s. And, as for her, his wife looked content and happy in a way Wyatt had never really since her.  
  
Sure, they’d shared moments of mirth, and after a drink or two, he’d often find her relaxed and soft, but this Lucy, the one who existed in a world with Amy, in a world with Hannah …she was still different, even if in many ways she was the same woman he’d called ma’am before he had even taken one good look at her.  
  
But he loved her all the same.  
  
If he was being honest with himself, he’d loved her for a while; he’d just been too caught up in his guilt, in this notion that he didn’t deserve anyone or anything after what he’d done to Jessica, that he hadn’t allowed himself to even imagine a future.  
  
Then he’d tried to save Jessica. Then he’d faced the possibility of not seeing her ever again, realized that his true purpose was there, by her side, had just started to get comfortable with the possibility of something more …only to jump on that Lifeboat and end up here, in this idyllic life where Lucy was his, where his mistakes hadn’t killed Jessica, where he could let himself feel, or accept that he felt.  
  
He was in love with Lucy Preston. He’d likely been for a while.  
  
And the thing he wanted most in the world was to lay down on that bed that held his entire world and hug them both close, protect them, love them, and just be there with them. But for that, he and Lucy needed a conversation or five. For that they needed to get Hannah back to sleeping in her room.  
  
For that they needed a routine.  
  
They needed to find their footing in this new reality. They needed to become a couple, not just two people who might have feelings for each other and had been thrown into an incredible set of circumstances.  
  
In other words, they needed to find a way to be an unit before they could truly be a family.  
  
So he took one deep breath and then another and allowed himself to capture the image of them laying there in his mind, before he moved towards Lucy’s side and gently shook her shoulder, probably the safest place he could touch without combusting into another pile of less than innocent feels.  
  
Lucy awoke slowly, a tiny noise first (and nope, he wasn’t thinking about other moments she could make noises like that, absolutely not), a head shake second (her hair falling adorably forward to cover her face), and a little jump next, probably a reaction to the little person that was totally plastered to her.  
  
“Hmpfhf” she said, which was, in Wyatt’s mind, a totally acceptable first word for the morning.  
  
“And good morning to you too. I awoke to a pretty quiet house, which recent experience dictates is not actually common around here, so I came to look for you – I mean, Hannah.” He reddened a bit at the slip. “Thankfully I found the two of you together.”  
  
He probably shouldn’t find the smile she directed his way as adorable as he did.  
  
“I didn’t want to disturb you, but I already showered, changed and tried the basic stuff I could do for breakfast before you know, waking you up …”  
  
There it was again, that smile, even if this time her eyes moved quickly from his to Hannah, who didn’t seem like she was going to move anytime soon.    
  
“Yeah, thank you.” She said, though her eyes remained on the little figure curled up next to her, almost as if she were trying to figure out the answer to a very complex puzzle.  
  
He needed out, fast, before his brain short circuited and his heart took over. And, of course, the easiest way to get out of this room was to lean down and lift Hannah from the bed. That, of course, didn’t mean he was counting on the way she just burrowed into him, but at least the Hannah—related feelings he was used to by now.  
  
Mostly.  
  
As he focused on her little face, on the way her features tensed up when he lifted her, but slackened against as she recognized him, on the absolute trust that she had bestowed upon him, it was easy to just nod at Lucy and get out of the room so she could get ready for the day.  
  
It wasn’t till he was out that he realized that meant he was completely in charge of getting Hannah ready.  
  
_Dad 1, Husband 0_.

<\-------->

He was feeling on top of the world by the time Lucy came down the stairs, looking impossibly pretty and soft in a floral dress. He’d woken up Hannah without her making a fuss and had gotten her clean and dressed. On top of that, he’d also managed to make the admittedly really easy breakfast the calendar had informed him they were due to eat today, and Lucy had beamed at him as they ate in silence.  
  
And by silence, of course, that meant him and Lucy stayed mostly silent while Hannah prattled on about anything and everything.  
  
When they were done, she’d settled in the living room for her ‘me time’ as he and Lucy cleaned up and tried not to laugh. It was then that, in an effort to plan ahead, he glanced at the handy calendar and found that, for lunch, all it said was: Patty’s.  
  
“What the hell is a Patty?” he asked, though he was one hundred percent sure Lucy was as clueless as him.  
  
“Like a hamburger patty?”  
  
He would have laughed, but he honestly had no better guess than that one.  
  
“That’s what the calendar says. Patty.” He informed her, as he deposited some dishes next to her on the sink and looked around to make sure he’d gotten everything. “Is Patty a person? A thing?”  
  
Lucy shrugged. “Would she really mind if we change it up?”  
  
As if on cue, Hannah laughed from the other room and though neither moved towards her, they seemed to come to the same conclusion regarding their daughter.  
  
She would mind.  
  
“Call Jiya?” Wyatt asked, as he came to stand next to Lucy. It was his turn to dry the dishes.  
  
“Call Jiya,” Lucy nodded, and for a minute or two, they worked together to finish getting the kitchen clean. It had only been a few days, but they were already so in sync that it was hard for Wyatt to think of a time where he’d been doing this by himself – or when he’d wanted to do it with someone else.  
  
Soon enough the kitchen was clean, and as Lucy dried her hands and made her way to the phone, he went to check on Hannah, because …well, because he was a parent. He couldn’t not worry.  
  
He could only hear Lucy’s side of the conversation, as he made his way to the doorway where he could both keep an eye on his daughter and listen to his wife, and yet he could almost imagine Jiya’s response to everything Lucy was asking.  
  
“Jiya? I’m sorry to bother you, again. All we’ve done lately is bother you. And I know you...okay, shutting up now. Yes. I’ll ask my question. No, you don’t mind. Yes, that’s what friends are for.”  
  
He wasn’t sure if the other version of Jiya had been as amazing as this one, but he was immensely glad to live in a reality where Lucy and him had her in their lives.  
  
“The...eh...the food calendar says Patty and we were just wondering….oh, it’s a place. Always?”  
  
Wyatt processed the information while still starting at Hannah. Oh, yeah, they were going to Patty’s. There was no way they were going to talk Hannah out of a set outing with her parents. He’d been her father for very little time, but he knew this.  
  
“Daddy, why you stare at me?” His daughter asked, without even turning to look at him, and he didn’t really have an answer so he just threw a loud kiss at his daughter, and then just turned back to Lucy.  
That girl was going to be the end of him.  
  
“Okay. Yeah, and the address to the diner is on the GPS? Okay. Yeah, of course, we can do that.”  
  
Wyatt was already behind her when she said her goodbyes to Jiya and turned, and she gave a little jump as if she actually expected him to be able to stay away from her, as if he weren’t the flame and him the moth, permanently attracted.  
  
“God, Wyatt! I’m going to have to put a bell on you!”  
  
She probably didn’t mean that the way his mind made it sound, but hey – he was pretty much done censuring his desires when it came to Lucy.  
  
Was this what peace felt like?  
  
“I guess I’m getting the car keys. And the…do kids Hannah’s age need a car seat?”  
  
Lucy didn’t look like she had any more of an answer than he did. “Eh, I can call Jiya again.”  
  
“No, wait,” Wyatt cut in, “there’s Google. And, I’m guessing if we do need one, it’ll be in the garage. Let her rest. We can figure this out. Plus, compared to some of the things we’ve done, this will be a piece of cake.  
  
“You’re right,” she nodded, “it’s just…”  
  
“We’re parents.” He stated, because he could understand where she was coming from. He’d gotten there a bit ago, and freaked out too.  
  
“You think the fear is normal?”  
  
He took the phone from her hand, deposited it on the counter. “I do. I really, really do.”  
  
Wyatt wasn’t exactly sure how he’d been expecting her to response, but the smile she gave him, all warmth and light and trust wasn’t what he’d been anticipating.  
  
It was, however, exactly what he wanted, not just now, but every day of his life from now on.  
  
“So, I guess we go to Patty’s?” she questioned, but it was more of a statement than anything.  
  
“Yes. It’s apparently what we do and we wouldn’t want to break tradition, would we?”  
  
No, they wouldn’t. Even if tradition meant thirty minutes of wrestling with an impossible car seat. It was all worth it for the look on Hannah and Lucy’s face as they finally got on their way.

<\-------->

The first thing Hannah did when they got out of the car in front of Patty’s Diner was very literally grab hold of both of their hands. At some point, Wyatt was sure all of the girl’s little quirks, her exuberant expressions of affection, would seem commonplace.

He wasn’t there yet, and a part of him kind hoped he never actually got to that place, because he would really, really like to feel this exact level of wonder every day for the rest of his life.

One that seemingly intensified tenfold when his baby entered the place like she absolutely owned it, and screamed, at the top of her lungs “Hullo Miss Patty!” to what seemed like the entire place, as she made her way to a table.

God, Wyatt didn’t even want to imagine how much of a handful she was going to be at ten, or at fifteen.

But that was a matter for another day. He could barely comprehend being father to a little kid, he was probably going to go into cardiac arrest thinking of what it would mean like to be father to a teenager.

Thankfully, Miss Patty herself, or so he assumed, made her way to their table shortly after they’d settled in.

“Hello sweet pea! Wyatt, Lucy. How are you all doing today?”

“Fine. We’re…fine…” Lucy answered.

“Yeah, what…she said,” he added, unhelpfully, because what was he supposed to say to this lady who, apparently, knew them?  
  
Probably more than what he said, apparently, as she tilted her head at them and flatly stated:  “You don’t sound so fine.”  
  
Selfishly, he would have rather Lucy handled this one. She was more of the talk to people type, after all. But Lucy’s eyes were round and her face held a hint of panic, and he knew this was all on him.  
  
It was just that …he didn’t know what to say.  
  
How do you explain that the life you thought you were destined to lead, the one that was guilt and anger and loneliness, had, in an instant, transformed into the total opposite. How could he put into words how much it meant to have Lucy and Hannah and the whole family they’d created together?  
  
Was there even a way to explain the joy of not being alone?  
  
Lucy’s foot pressed against his, urging him to find words, so, as if he were on a mission that depended on his words, he did:  
  
“Just a couple of rough days,” He shrugged, and turned his biggest smile on Miss Patty. “It’s good to be getting back to our routine,” he finished, as he looked around.  
  
Thankfully, that seemed to appease Miss Patty. “You want the usual or are you craving something different?”  
  
“The usual, please” Lucy replied, even though he was sure she had no more idea what their usual was than he did.  
  
““Coming right up, dears,” Miss Patty smiled, and then, in one fluid motion, headed to a corner and came back with a coloring sheet and mini crayons.  
  
Like it was routine. Which again, it probably was.  
  
Hannah got to coloring right away, and Wyatt just looked …at his daughter, who every few minutes would ask her mother for advice on what color looked best, at Lucy, at the way her eyes went soft and her features relaxed when she look at Hannah, and at the rest of the place, at how well they fit into this life that they’d made for themselves.  
  
No one was looking at him – at them – as if they were out of place, and that was because they weren’t.  
  
They belonged.  
  
He lost himself in this thought, for a second, and the silent was not uncomfortable at all as he daydreamed about things they could do together, things that families did. Of course, the peace was interrupted, not by the food, but by Hannah throwing absolutely everything to the floor as she declared that “FOOD WAS HERE!”  
  
At home, Hannah usually had no problem with asking for help. Miss Patty’s, however, apparently operated under different rules, because she was quick to shoo away any attempt he or Lucy made to actually help in any way, shape or form.  
  
She had it under control, or at least, that’s what she seemed to think, and just the thought that she actually might made his heart ache.  
  
He’d missed so much. Or he hadn’t, but since he didn’t actually remember, he felt he was perfectly allowed to mourn the years of his daughter’s life he would never get to see.  
  
Lucy promptly broke him out of his mood, thankfully. “That she gets from you,” she said, as if continuing a conversation.  
  
He stole a fry of her plate and pointed at her with it before asking: “What, the stubbornness?”  
  
“It couldn’t just be the eyes.”  
  
His eyes went to Hannah, and though he continued eating, his voice wasn’t as casual as he wanted it to be when he stated:  “We did good. The other us, I mean.”  
  
“Yeah?” Lucy asked, as if she were desperate to believe in his words.  
  
“Yeah.” He confirmed, and he hoped she could see in his eyes what those words meant. “We did good.”  
  
Of course, Hannah interrupted him before he could …eh, make his intentions even more obvious? At this point, they both knew. They both agreed. If he was sure of one thing, it was that one.  
  
And that meant that, even if their daughter was incredibly adorable, and even if the food was probably worth coming here every week, he didn’t have eyes for anything but this wonderful woman in front of him, the one who was his partner, his friend, his wife.  
  
Once, a long time ago, he’d given someone else that title, and yet he was sure it had never meant more.  
  
His foot made contact with hers at this thought, because he just absolutely had to touch her, and she pressed back into him as if this were normal, as if their regular life consisted of looking at each other longingly over Hanna’s head.  
  
Maybe it did.  
  
And if it was so, then he was ready to start living that, fully.

<\-------->

During the course of the past few days Wyatt had done a lot of things he’d never envisioned himself doing. Going to the Farmers Market was definitely on that list, and yet, when Lucy’s points out that yes, there is one across the street from Miss Patty’s and Hannah asks to go in her singsong voice, turning to him after getting some ambivalence from Lucy, well ….he’s not made of stone, is he?  
“I guess we can for a little bit,” was literally the only acceptable answer. It really was.  
  
“Wyatt Logan, you’re a pushover,” his wife chided, even as they both headed towards the market with smiles.  
  
And if he was a pushover, so what? It was his daughter. He could spoil her a little bit.  
  
Besides, walking around the market, seeing Hannah say hi to strangers and to have those strangers say hi back, or ask how they were doing, was somehow a much more personal experience than Wyatt expected it to be. He’d noticed it at the restaurant, that they were an unit, that people recognized them as such, but that could just be …well, looks.  
  
2018 or not, a man, a woman and a child walking together still screamed family.  
  
That wasn’t the sum of it, though. It wasn’t that they looked like a stereotypical family unit, it was that all of these people had interacted with them, had seem how they carried themselves, had seen the love that bound them together and had, by the grace of that, recognized them as a family.  
  
Love. That’s what made families. Nothing more, nothing else.  
  
And his heart was overflowing with it as he spied a flower stall and let his girls walk a little ways ahead of him so he could grab a bouquet for Lucy.  
  
They were her favorites, after all.  
  
He wasn’t sure which were Hannah’s favorites, but the daffodils looked bright and perky and just the kind of thing his daughter would like.  
  
Once he got them, though, it wasn’t just about giving them the flowers, no, it was about making them feel loved. It was about the spectacle of hiding the flowers behind his back as Hannah, clearly an old pro at this game, jumped up and down.  
  
It was about her little face as she saw the daffodils, at the way she cradled them in her tiny arms like they were the biggest treasure she’d ever received.  
  
And, of course, it was about the look on Lucy’s face as he handed her the sunflowers, a look that was more than family, more than companionship, more than love, even.  
  
He’d never seen her walked down an aisle toward him, but standing there, looking at her, he could sort of imagine what she would look like.  
  
Loved.  
  
Wyatt had stopped believing in a higher power many years ago, but he found himself automatically asking God, the universe, or whoever was listening, for many more years by this woman’s side, so he could make sure she would sport that expression every day.  
  
Then Hannah was hugging his legs, and he was staring at Lucy as she breathed a soft “Thank you.”  
  
“You’re welcome,” he said, because the Farmers Market was not the place for more. And boy, did he want to say more.

<\-------->

From the Farmers Market they went to the park, and then to the store, and by the time they got home absolutely everyone was exhausted, which meant dinner was a quiet and quick affair as they tried to keep Hannah from falling asleep on top of her plate.

“Okay, munchkin, time for your bath and bed.” Lucy declared before Hannah was even halfway through, and a part of him wanted to insist that she had to eat more, while the bigger part just wanted the girl to go to sleep so he could have a conversation with Lucy, maybe even more.

But of course, Hannah was not to be deterred. Tiredness meant nothing to a kid her age, and Wyatt felt sure that the more they insisted, the less likely she was to agree that it was time to sleep

That is, of course, until she asked the dreaded question: “Can I sleep with you and mom tonight?”

And though Wyatt would happily let his daughter dictate just about every second of his life, and though he absolutely would have loved to hold her as she slept, he could one hundred percent not have the conversation he wanted to have if she was present.

So, the answer was simple. Communicating it, however, was not.

“You’re a big girl now, aren’t you?”

“No.” Hannah pouted, which, of course, meant yes. He’d only been a parent for a few days, but he recognized that tactic.

Lucy clearly did too, as she placed a hand on Hannah’s shoulder, which, in turn, made the little girl turn into her mother’s legs, while reaching to grab something of his and finding only his sweater.

“That’s not what you said earlier,” he reminded Hannah, as he poked at her nose.

“But I wanna!” Hannah groused, and she was more tired than annoyed, Wyatt was sure, but there was a little bit of fear there in her voice, and that he could not abide by. If she was truly scared of something, he’d give in. How could he not?

Lucy clearly sensed something too, because she turned to Hannah and asked, in that voice she reserved for her and her alone “What’s going on, baby? Are you scared of something?”

Her response was unintelligible. Like, actual sounds came out of her mouth, but they formed no words.

“What?”

“I don’t wanna Pops to sleepy on the couch,” Hannah finally half yelled, half cried.

“What?” Lucy asked, and her eyes met his as he stood up in surprise.

There were plenty of possible responses to Hannah’s outburst, but Wyatt didn’t think any of them were actually advisable considering she was still in the room and this was less about him and Lucy’s, ahem, issues, as it was about their kid not being used to change, and maybe, perhaps, being worried about her parents.

“If Hannah there, you sleep in your room,” Hannah explained, hands finally releasing her legs and gesturing at both of them, “Together!”

Whatever he’d been expecting from this conversation, it wasn’t for Hannah to basically act like his wingman. But if she was handing him exactly what he wanted, who was he to complain?

Either Lucy agreed or she just didn’t know how to fight against the inevitable, but either way, she was the one promising the things Wyatt himself would not have dared to.

It was up to her, after all. He’d been raised better than to have promised anyone – even a little kid, especially a little kid, that he would put someone in a situation that would potentially make them uncomfortable.

“Honey, Mommy and Pops are going to sleep in their bed tonight. And you are going to sleep in yours, okay?”

“You promise?” Their kid was going to be a menace in a few years, Wyatt was sure of it. She already was, and was most likely not even trying.

“We promise,” he and Lucy responded at the same time, and when their eyes met, there wasn’t apprehension there, but promise.

Parenting was certainly not easy, but it seemed like they’d already found their footing with Hannah. Now, it was time to tackle their relationship.

Bring it.

End of Chapter 12.


	13. More Than I Imagined (Wyatt's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeping in the same bed, while knowing that you're technically married in this world, is no easy feat for Wyatt and Lucy. Especially with the feelings they have for each other!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going to reallyyyyyy start moving from here on out! Enjoy and let Lizzie and I know what you think about this chapter! Lyra, over and out!

 Anticipation is a bitch.

Wyatt was already aware of this particular truth. He’d been aware of it for longer than he cared to admit. But – and his fifteen year old self would have probably laughed at his older self for this – there was a certain edge to it when the woman you loved was involved.

Even if the anticipation wasn’t exactly about sex, just about intimacy.

Because sure, he was looking forward to more than just a talk with Lucy, he ached to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, to run his hands through every inch of her skin – and yet he also wanted to talk to her, to make her laugh, to curl up in bed together and just talk about the day they’d both had.

He wanted them to be a couple, a real one.

“It’s my turn to get Hannah ready,” Lucy interrupted his thoughts, “so if you want to …you know, get ready …eh, get comfortable…” she gestured at the room in the most unsubtle way possible, “you got …eh, time. I’ll be with Hannah. Getting her ready. For bed. Yes.”

Clearly, he wasn’t the only one feeling the weight of whatever was coming.

“Yeah, I’ll take a shower,” he said, but when she and Hannah departed, not without a long hug from his daughter and several eskimo kisses – Hannah’s favorite kind – instead of just walking into the bathroom, he took  a second to look around Lucy’s room.

No, _their_ room.

It was clearly a shared space. He would have bet good money on him having absolutely no say in the comforter, and he really wasn’t the type for the pillows that decorated the bed, or the drapes that hung on the windows, but the TV was more his speed, and there was a PS4 controller in one of the night tables that he at least hoped he got to use some of the time.

There were also books that seemed more to his tastes than Lucy’s, a Ludlum mystery novel he’d always wanted to read and in this reality, seemed to be in the middle of and a vintage car book that he was pretty sure he’d probably own in any timeline.

And that was, of course, without counting the closet.

His clothes were there – most of them recognizably his, even if in general his style had become more preppy than he would have ever expected - which shouldn’t have surprised him, he and Lucy were a couple, but it was still somewhat amazing to see his side of the closet and hers, how some things blended together, including the shoes: his in perfect order, hers a little messier, but still not enough to break the aesthetics.

Wyatt was reasonably sure he was the one responsible for the order. He was, after all, a military man at heart.

The bathroom, when he walked into it, was even more of a surprise to him – not just because it looked cozy and not at all girly, like something they might have picked together, something that held both his razor and her makeup, but because there was a chair by the bathtub that he almost imaged he could sit in as Lucy took a bubble bath.

Of course, he could also imagine them taking that bubble bath together, which of course, was a no-go zone for him if he wanted to retain even one iota of control, so he made sure not to dwell on any fantasy that might involve naked Lucy, as he made his way out of the bathroom, rummaged through the closet for some pajamas – imagine his surprise at finding out he owned an actual matching set– and headed for the shower.

Efficiency was usually his middle name, but this time, he let his mind wander for a little bit. It’d been so long since he’d felt happy that he wasn’t exactly sure how he was supposed to walk around with his heart so full, and he needed a little time to adjust to the sensation of being whole.

If you’d asked him a month ago, Wyatt would have told him he could never be whole again without Jessica. And yet, here he was, clearly proving that hypothesis wrong.

Jessica had never been the one to make him whole, and if her disappearance had made him feel like there was a void in his heart that could never be filled, it was mostly because of guilt, not love.

He saw that now. He understood.

Not because he hadn’t loved her, he had. She’d saved him from spiraling into despair when he was a teenager, she’d been his family when he had none, and he’d always be thankful that he got to be the Wyatt who knew her, who cared for her.

But he was also in a place where he could now accept that he was also really; really glad he didn’t have to continue trying to be the Wyatt who made her happy.

He’d never been good at that.

And yet, he had a feeling that he was perfectly suited for the job of man who made Lucy Preston happy.

Maybe tonight would be the real start of that, he thought, as he finally got out of the shower and donned middle-aged Dad pajama, which, to be fair, wasn’t as far from the truth as he would like to think it was.

When he got back to the room, Lucy was waiting to take a shower, and there was something about the way she smiled at him as he entered the room and she the bathroom that made a shiver run through his spine.

Deep breaths, Wyatt, he reminded himself. You need to talk to your wife, not ravish her.

Or, you need to talk to her _first_ , at least.

He wandered around the room for a little while longer, taking in every detail, until he was left with absolutely nothing to do but sit in bed, under the cover, flip the book he’d apparently been reading to the beginning and start again.

Thankfully, it was a good enough book that it distracted him from the idea of Lucy taking a shower. It, however, wasn’t engrossing enough that he didn’t absolutely raise his head as soon as he heard her walk in.

She was a vision in these soft, pink pajamas, that were, funnily enough, also a matching set. They really were those people.

He wanted to point it out, but his throat had gone dry. Instead, he just patted the other side of the bed and kept his eyes on her as she made her way through the room and got in quickly, burrowing under the covers till the blanket was up to her neck.

And then, silence.

Silence.

Silence.

“Ehh, this is awkward,” he said, finally, because it felt like the silence was pressing on his chest, and the pressure got worse and worse with every second that passed. From the other side of the bed, Lucy sighed visibly, which made him feel better about the whole thing.

“Thank you,” she breathed, and the blanket got a bit lower as she settled into the numerous pillows behind her. He’d left about 90% of the pillows on the bed to her. He was fine with just one. “I thought I was the only one,” she continued, as if there was any way this was only awkward for her.

Of course, that was when his brain decided to chime in with the one thing that had the potential of making this even more uncomfortable.

“We _have_ slept together before.”

They had. He remembered it. He also vividly remembered that they hadn’t actually slept together in the way that phrase was usually used, and that lying next to each other in a bed that was decidedly too small for the two of them had been as close to torture as anything he’d ever experienced.

At least there was more space between them this time.

Though, considering all the things his mind and body wanted, that was probably a bad thing, not a good one. He’d kill to be as close to her as he was back then, especially considering that, as unsure and worried as he’d been then, he was one hundred percent certain of what he wanted now.

“Yes, we have, side by side,” Lucy clarified, as if he could have somehow forgotten that they’d done no more than that.

Oh, yes, this conversation was going swimmingly. A+, Wyatt. You got this.

“In a smaller space than this.” His mind really seemed to be into the details right about now. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe he should just bite his tongue and smile at her, hope that said it all?

“Ridiculously small,” Lucy agreed with a smile, and he was happy to see his insistence on details hadn’t really freaked her out. “So, what should we do? To relax?”

Was everything coming out of her mouth a double entendre or was he just incapable of regular thought now that she was nestled in bed next to him, like she belonged at his side?

He was aware it was probably the second one, but he wouldn’t really mind if the first one came true. She was, after all, the woman he loved. He wouldn’t walk away from an opportunity to show her just how much.

But it was probably …as much as he wanted it, too soon. For the physical aspect, at least, not for …talking, for finding their footing as a couple again. Not for intimacy. Just for actual sex.

So, he offered the only thing he could think of as an alternative.

“What was the last movie you watched?”

She smiled like the sun was coming out after a particularly bad storm, and his heart contracted once again at seeing her so happy, so at ease. He’d already told her, time and time again, that he was willing to go at her pace, and just because he was now one hundred percent sure he was madly in love with her, that didn’t mean that had changed.

He could – he would – spend the rest of his life making her happy. Even if that mean going slow.

“Ughhh, I don't know,” she responded, with that adorable frown she got when she was thinking hard about something. “You?

“I …haven’t …I don’t really ….” Movies were my thing with Jessica and I barely remember any I’ve watched without her wasn’t how he wanted this conversation to go. “I might be more than a tad behind, on everything.”

“Well,” she smiled. “We have time now. We could catch up, _together_.”

“Together?” he asked, and it felt like he was asking for more than a movie, like he was asking for them to give this life that they were already giving a real shot at working out, for them to try being more than the other timeline’s Wyatt and Lucy. For them to try to be this family, these people that had come together and made Hannah.

And Lucy seemed to get the enormity of what he was asking, because she paused and breathed deeply before she answered, with a little quiver in her voice, but no hesitation: “Together.”

The nerves didn’t totally leave Wyatt after that, but his whole body deflated, as if the stakes had suddenly been lowered.

He wasn’t about to lose it all if he made one wrong move, not anymore. He could figure it out. _They_ could figure it out.

Together.

Yeah, that might be his favorite word of all time.

“We could do a movie night?” he asked, turning to her a little so that the book fell into the space between them and his back was partially blocking the light coming from the lamp, giving the room a vibe that could almost be described as romantic. “Ask Rufus and Jiya to watch Hannah, so we can have some time for ourselves.”

Lucy laughed nervously, but she deliberately turned her body to his as she asked “Wyatt Logan, are you asking me out?”

He hadn’t realized that’s exactly what he was doing, but when she verbalized it, he realized there was no other answer to that than the truth. Especially considering the twinkle in her eyes.

“If I said yes, would you?”

There was no hesitation in her as she replied. “Of course,” beaming at him in a way that was more than possibilities.

It was certainties.

Silence descended over them again, but unlike a few minutes ago, it was a comfortable silence, a complicit one. The word ‘together’ had been bandied about for a while, but it had never felt more real.

They were a team, in everything, including life.

And all they needed was to walk this path that led them to the people they had been in this timeline. There was no doubt that they both wanted to.

But they didn’t need to hurry, Wyatt realized, as she continued to smile at him and he unconsciously moved closer to her.

They had, after all, already arrived at the same place.

Now, all the needed was to find their own way.

“Okay,” he said, because his mind was suddenly desperate to know anything and everything about this woman that shared his bed, and his life. “Favorite color?”

If she was surprised at his question, she recovered fast, and once again, the answer came too fast for it to be anything but a certainty. “Purple,” she said, and he had a sudden vision of her in a purple dress, floaty and low cut, smiling at him, but it was gone by the time she asked. “What about you?”

His answer was simple too. “Green. But forest green, not like bright green or anything.”

She giggled, honest to God giggled, as if his answer was a joke or like she found something hilarious in his color choice, he wasn’t sure.

“What?” he laughed, because seeing her happy, even if it was at his expense, was his favorite thing in the entire world. She could be making fun of him for all he knew, and yet, that didn’t matter.

He could take it if it put a smile on her face.

“Well, you specified and I didn’t. It’s cute,” her eyes were bright and clear and she was still smiling softly. “That you know what you like. That’s all.”

“I’m a man of refined tastes,” he continued with the joke, because her whole expression had gone soft and her hand was curled around the pillow now, and marginally closer to him.

“Okay, then, man of refined tastes,” she asked, almost like they were taking turns, almost like this was a thing they did now, sharing casual information with each other. “Favorite superhero?”

“Eaaaaaasy. Batman. There’s no other answer.”

From her expression, Wyatt was sure they were about to have the first rocky argument of their marriage. Or the first one they were going to remember, at least.

It could have been about worse things.

“But Batman isn’t really a superhero!” She informed him. “He doesn’t have powers!”

Wyatt was so affronted he had trouble articulating his thoughts.

“So what? He has loads of money to make gadgets and weapons that heroes and villains with powers can't get past. Sounds like a hero to me.”

Lucy, of course, turned it around on him.

“Then, but your logic, Connor Mason is also a superhero.”

He had to admit that made him pause, but after a second, he shrugged and pretty much conceded the point. But, in his head, that meant …

“That would make us superheroes too. I mean, we did travel through time to stop an evil organization from destroying history.”

Lucy laughed, bright and happy, so he continued.

“And we could have died. Multiple times. WHILE trying to save the world as we know it. Heroic stuff, right there.”

“Well, what else were we gonna do?” She asked, and her face had gone so earnest that Wyatt wanted to hug her. He’d been joking, of course, about their heroics deeds, because the truth of the matter was that, as much as he’d gotten into that lifeboat the first time because those were the orders, and he’d kept doing it, week in and week out because he truly wanted to take down Rittenhouse, his number one reason had been …well, Lucy and Rufus.

He did it for them. He did it because of them.

“I promise you, that’s what heroes say,” he told her, because he wasn’t ready to admit his reasons yet, and because her words touched him deep. “Come on,” he continued, trying to lighten the mood, “have you not seen to this in any superhero movie?”

The smile she gave him was placating, but he’d take it nonetheless. “Fine. We _are_ heroes.”

“ _Superheroes_.”

Maybe there would come a time when he didn’t enjoy teasing her so much, but this was not the time.

“We don’t have superpowers!” was her very on point response, but that was just the opening Wyatt didn’t know he needed.

“I happen to think you are super smart. And super kind. And super resourceful. And …”

“Okay, okay.” Her face had gone red so fast that it was actually kind of amazing, it wasn’t pink or slightly colored, no, it was tomato red, the embarrassment so clear that Wyatt just wanted to… he wasn’t sure, look the other way, give her time?

He also kinda wanted to compliment her every day, so this would become a normal thing, so she’d never have to be embarrassed to hear the truth about herself. She was amazing, and she deserved to hear it.

Now was not the time, though, so he looked the other way as she composed herself and continued with the conversation.

“We’re superheroes. What would our hero names be?”

He’d never given this any thought, none whatsoever.

“Something heroic, of course.”

“And bold,” she added, and when he looked at her now she was back to just a hint of pink on her cheeks, but she was so much closer to him, most of the pillows now forgotten as she’d occupied the space that had currently separated him and just curled up while looking up at him.

Was that a hint? Was he reading too much into it? Was it possible that he was now the one blushing?

He filled the silence with words. “Yes, bold. Like “Green Eagle.” Yeah. I like that. And you can be “The Purple Mastermind.”

“You’re just adding colors to everything,” she pointed out, her voice a little breathy. “Besides, those sound like villain names.”

“No, they don’t!” he protested, because …well, because. She was pretty much right, but if he continued talking, maybe she wouldn’t realize that he was starting to lose his grasp on his vaunted control.

If he continued talking, maybe he wouldn’t take her in his arms.

Maybe.

“Yes, they do. I’d rather be something like …The Professor.”

That distracted him enough to sincerely laugh. “Now, **that** sounds like a villain name.”

“You’re just saying that to annoy me, aren’t you?”

“I would never, ma’am,” he was quick to retort and they both laughed, because this, even in this bed they’d never occupied together, this conversation, truly felt like them.

Like they were finding their own way forward, other Lucy and Wyatt be damned.

Even as he’s thinking this, though, her words catch him off guard, and the expression on her face as she says them lights a fire under him.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

He gets it. He really does. It’s not just about Hannah, or this house, or the Lifeboat, it’s about what this life, what this intimacy, means. It’s about carving out a place in the world just for the two of them, and trusting that the other person is going to be there with you every step of the way.

Partnership.

Love.

Wyatt is sure he’s found all of that. He’s sure Lucy is the one for him. And he would have waited days, months ..years. Whatever she needed to be sure.

Except, it seems, he didn’t have to wait. Because she’s here with him, and she’s staring at his mouth as his hand moves to tuck a strand of hair behind her year, whispering his name as he comes closer to breathe her in.

Is there anything he can say, other than the obvious?

“Me too. No one else.”

He understands how big those words are, not just for him to be saying, but for her to be processing. He sees the ghost of worry in her eyes, the notion that maybe, a part of him will always belong to Jessica, but he also sees her listen to his words, accept them, trust them.

It’s beautiful.

Wyatt Logan had known he was in love with Lucy Preston for a while, had accepted it to himself, hell, he’d even accepted it to Rufus, but he’d never let himself be caught in the trap of feeling sure of what she felt. He’d been that man before. The man who took things for granted.

Never again.

And that’s why he doesn’t crush his lips to hers after those words, like he wants to. That’s why he doesn’t do anything other than caress the shell of her ear as he tucks that errant strand of hair and just …smile.

He’s here. If she wants, she can make the first move.

But even as he thinks that, he’s caught off guard when she does.

Her lips taste like home and peppermint, and after one second he already knows it’s a taste he will become absolutely addicted to, just like he understands a new meaning of the word together as he arms come around his.

The kiss is over quickly. She pulls back, a little embarrassed, and looks at him shyly, and he feels shy himself all the sudden, but his hands are tracing her features, softly, because he can’t believe she’s real, he can’t believe she’s here, he can’t believe he gets to be this happy.

But she smiles, and comes closer, and this time he’s the one that closes the final space between them, he’s the one that relaxes his shoulders into this total and complete acceptance of …whatever this is …love, life, happiness, the planets aligning, the universe clicking into place, everything, nothing, a supernova of feeling just in this very moment.

Later, he won’t remember how they ended up curled up against each other, their bodies touching at literally every point they can be touching. He won’t remember falling asleep like that, and he won’t remember Hannah coming into the room and sneaking into bed with them.

He won’t remember anything from the moment he kissed her to the moment he woke up in this perfect dream that was now his life, both his girls curled around him, and smiling.

But he will always, till the day he dies, remember what it feels like to finally be whole. And he will tell his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren after that, that, just like the movies say, if they’re lucky, they will also experience a moment of pure and profound happiness.

“You won’t recognize it as you’re walking towards it, you won’t know it till you’re in it, but trust me, when you’re in it, your life will never, ever be the same. You will always, always be reaching for that moment again,” he’ll say, and he won’t have to tell them what his moment was, he won’t have to tell them what made him feel that way, because they will all know.

He will love her, from this day, till his last day, in a way that leaves no doubt.

That’ll be his legacy.

Certainty will disappear, of course, doubts will come calling and obstacles will appear in their path, but in this instant, certainty allows him to close his eyes and bask in this feeling for a little longer.

_Together._

_Forever._

End Chapter 13.

 


	14. More Than I Imagined (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeping in the same bed, while knowing that you're technically married in this world, is no easy feat for Wyatt and Lucy. Especially with the feelings they have for each other!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Lucy's turn to tell us all about her feelings sleeping next to Wyatt. *waggling eyebrows*
> 
> Enjoy and let Lizzie and I know what you think about this chapter! LYRA, OVER AND OUT!

It’s not like she’d never slept next to a guy. Lucy never really talked about her sex life or cared to share it with anyone, but she had one; a healthy sex life at that. The only ones that would hear about it were her partners if they asked or a close friend. And now that she really thought about it she’d never had the latter. Was Jiya that person now?

That was a question for later. 

Back to the matter at hand, she was going to sleep next to Wyatt. It’s not like they hadn’t done it before, sleeping next to each other. But there definitely was added pressure because A) feelings B) they were married and C) they’d absolutely had sex in this bed, sex that had resulted in Hannah.

Lucy could feel the blood rushing to her face and cheeks. She really needed to get away for a second.

“It’s my turn to get Hannah ready,” Lucy blurted out, pointing back with her thumb from where she stood by the door, “so if you want to …you know, get ready …eh, get comfortable…” she continued by gesturing to the entirety of the room, hoping and praying that Wyatt didn’t realize how flustered she was. She was an adult, goddammit, “you got …eh, time. I’ll be with Hannah. Getting her ready. For bed. Yes.”

Wyatt looked like he wanted to say more, but he just nodded and declared, “Yeah, I’ll take a shower.” Lucy took a step back, hand in Hannah’s and ready to go, but her daughter wasn’t. She tugged her hand out of Lucy’s, jumped into Wyatt’s arms, and they shared several eskimo kisses that Lucy would never admit were the most adorable thing she’d ever seen.

Wyatt caught her eyes once more before she left and she could feel the weight of his stare. The knowledge about what was going to happen tonight. She pushed it down and concentrated on getting Hannah ready for bed.

Fifteen minutes and one story later she had Hannah tucked in and ready for bed. It was during eskimo kisses that Hannah demanded that she surprised Lucy.

“You love him, right?”

“Your dad? Yes, of course.”

Hannah snuggled in her bed, a small pout still on her face. Lucy would give anything to get it off. She stuck out her pinkie, surprising Hannah and herself. This was another thing that she used to do with her sister.

“Promise.”

The smile that blossomed on Hannah’s face was something that she wanted to lock away and keep forever as a reminder of what she had, how far she’d come, and how much this little girl already meant to her.

Hannah wrapped her pinky around Lucy’s and nodded before replying, “Promise.”

Lucy didn’t know what to do for a second. How to end this moment and return to the room that she would be sharing with Wyatt. Hannah helped her with that again as her little hands were trying to shove the blankets under her legs and sides. She was trying to tuck herself in and it was adorable.

“Here, I got it,” Lucy pleaded, getting up and tucking the blankets under her and turning her into a blanket burrito. Hannah’s face disappeared when she snuggled down into the blankets. Lucy covered her mouth and held back the laugh that was ready to burst forth.

How did Hannah even breathe or sleep like that?

She shook her head and decided to solve this mystery another day. Night light on, lights out, and a ‘goodnight’ later and Lucy was once more standing in her room. Well, no. Not her room. Their room. Hers and Wyatts.

Lucy noted the water being turned off, meaning that Wyatt was going to be out in the room with her any second. She rushed to get her clothes, because there was no way she was going to change in front of him. Back at her house she’d come straight out of the bathroom in her towel and spend some time sitting about until she dried. 

She couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that. Not yet…

There had to come a tipping point between them. Something that would push them into a kiss or something more. But until then, until that tipping point came, they wouldn’t partake in any towel time in their bedroom. 

Lucy tried to act normal and not like she’d been rushing about trying to collect all her clothes when Wyatt came out. Once more she felt her face flush and hands clench. He was fresh out of the shower, cheeks flushed, hair damp, and relaxed in a way she’d never seen him before. 

There was only one way to describe it. He looked hot. Not magazine hot. We’re talking DILF, new professor with cardigan, relaxed stranger you’d meet in a bookstore in a novel, hot. Swallowing, she smiled and switched places with him, trying not to slam the door in the wake of his beautiful hot and still wet body.

“Nope, nope, nope. Not gonna think about that. Gonna take a shower and get ready for bed. I can do this,” she muttered to herself. And it worked. At first it calmed her down, pulled her from the angsty/hot and bothered train that her brain was going through. Then her mumblings helped center her. She was a professor, a time traveler, and a champion of history.

Lucy could handle Wyatt. She would handle Wyatt. 

It all went out the window when she opened the door and he was there, tucked into bed, waiting for her. Maybe he was hiding it better than she was, but he looked call and collected. Like he did this all the time, which she knew he didn’t.

Wyatt wasn’t going to bite, unless she wanted him too. Wyatt wasn’t going to cross the line, unless she wanted him too. All Wyatt was gonna do was make her feel welcome, not alone, and as if she were with someone she trusted. Which she was.

There was a tick of silence before he patted the other side of the bed, beckoning her forward.

Without being told twice she made her way around the room and quickly got into bed, burrowing herself down until the blanket was up to her neck. Ohhh, this is where Hannah got her sleeping habits from.

And then, silence.

Silence.

Silence.

“Ehh, this is awkward,” he said, finally, making her shoulders relax and a sigh leave her. She wasn’t the only one feeling at a loss of words. It made her feel better and less alone.

“Thank you,” she breathed, pulling the blanket a bit lower and relaxing into the numerous pillows behind her. When she peeked over at him she realized that he only had one pillow. He knew. He knew that she liked to be comfy, propped up, and submerged in cuddly goodness. It made her feel warm inside. “I thought I was the only one.”

“We have slept together before,” Wyatt suddenly blurted out.

Lucy wasn’t going to go down that rabbit hole no matter how much his words teased her or tempted her. He wasn’t going to ravish her and she wasn’t going to ravish him. They were going to sleep.

“Yes, we have, side by side,” Lucy clarified, her voice clear and definitely not stumbling over itself.

“In a smaller space than this,” he reminded her, his head tilted towards her and that grin on his face making an appearance. She really loathed that smile, especially because she wanted to kiss it right off..

“Ridiculously small,” Lucy agreed with a smile, hands coming up from under the blankets and smoothing them out over herself. “So, what should we do? To relax?”

She watched him mull over his thoughts, seemingly at a loss like she was at what they should do or talk about next.

“What was the last movie you watched?”

The smile that came to Lucy’s face was unbidden. She hadn’t watched a movie in ages. But this was a safe topic, something she could talk about, and something that would hopefully distract him from that dumbfounded yet adoring look that he was giving her. 

Had he looked at her like that before? There might’ve been moments, little bits here and there when they started to get to know each other. But not like this. Never like this. She liked it and wondered what she had to do to get him to look like that at her over and over again. 

“Ughhh, I don't know,” she responded, hand coming up to her face in thought. “You?

“I…haven’t…I don’t really…” Wyatt answered, following her lead and relaxing back against the headboard and his pillow, “I might be more than a tad behind, on everything.”

“Well,” she grinned, patting her hands against the blankets as if she were holding a gavel and it had already been decided. “We have time now. We could catch up, together .”

“Together?” he asked, sliding a bit more down so he could be at her level.

Lucy knew that they were in this together. There was undeniable proof. Months worth of undeniable proof. The last couple days had been chock-full of promises, assertions, and letting the other know that they had each others back. But this was different.

This wasn’t just taking care of Hannah, battling the unknown territory of the food calendar on the fridge, and the adventure of discovery of this house. This was planning to do things. Together. 

Just them two. For fun. To get to know each other better. And it was….

BLOWING…

HER…

MIND!

Lucy paused, breathed in deeply before answering, and damned it for the little quiver that followed.

“Together.”

Wyatt’s body seemed to deflate and he came to rest right next to her, body no longer in between wanting to laying down and actually laying down next to her.

“We could do a movie night?” he asked, shifting his body a little so he was facing her more than laying down on his back. The book he had abandoned on his lap when she came into the room, slipped down to rest between them. 

Lucy couldn’t help but notice the space. 

When he continued she felt a shift in the air that she didn’t question but followed through, by turning her body towards him.

“Ask Rufus and Jiya to watch Hannah, so we can have some time for ourselves.” His voice sounded hopeful.

Lucy had no idea why she was so nervous when she blurted out, “Wyatt Logan, are you asking me out?”

There was no hesitation.

“If I said yes, would you?”

She once more followed him, answering with no hesitation. 

“Of course.” 

Is this how it felt when the other version of them started going out? Was it as warm, right, and toe curling as it felt right now to have him by her side? She hoped it was.

“Okay,” he said, voice light and excited. Honestly it was kind of shocking and exciting to have someone wanting to know things about her. Everything had been so serious for a while that it was kind of grounding. “Favorite color?”

“Purple,” she said, thinking back to the dress that she caught when looking through her closet. It was the color of the lavender that her mom kept around the house, the sweet grapes she would eat right out of the fridge on hot summer days, and of the first pen she’d ever bought with her pocket money. Knowing that this color was still a part of her was a comfort. “What about you?”

His answer was as easy as hers except he completely turned to lay on his side facing her and got this really cute crinkle between his eyebrows as he described the perfect color, “Green. But forest green, not like bright green or anything.”

Lucy giggled. Honest to God, giggled. But it was Wyatt. She didn’t have to be ashamed of it or weirded out. It was a giggle of pure joy and relaxation that she’d never experienced and was not ready to poke and prod at in this intimate bubble they now seemed to be in. She turned to face him as well, arms curled up in front of her. 

They were closer now.

“What?” he laughed, crinkle becoming more pronounced at her smile.

It only made Lucy laugh more, cheeks hurting from the smile on her face. “Well, you specified and I didn’t. It’s cute,” she answered, pointing at him briefly. If only he could see how endearing he was. “That you know what you like. That’s all.”

“I’m a man of refined tastes,” he huffed, without a doubt playing along with her.

Lucy’s smile softened and her hand curled around the pillow underneath her head.

“Okay, then, man of refined tastes,” she asked, tapping her chin in thought before deciding to go with, “Favorite superhero?”

“Eaaaaaasy,” he said, waving her off like there was only one answer in the world. “Batman. There’s no other answer.”

Lucy fake gasped, hand to her chest as she informed him, “But Batman isn’t really a superhero! He doesn’t have powers!”

Wyatt sputtered, looking as if he was shortcuiting at her words. They were teasing each other and Lucy liked it. She had a feeling that Wyatt did too when his eyes playfully narrowed and he scooted a little bit closer. 

He had an argument ready. She just knew it.

“So what? He has loads of money to make gadgets and weapons that heroes and villains with powers can't get past. Sounds like a hero to me.”

Lucy turned it around on him, “Then, but your logic, Connor Mason is also a superhero.”

He shrugged, not bothered and sure of himself. “That would make us superheroes too. I mean, we did travel through time to stop an evil organization from destroying history.”

Lucy laughed. She? A superhero? He was right on the time traveling and stopping an evil organization from destroying history. But that was...their mission. They weren’t superheroes. 

But...the more she thought about it...the more she thought he was a bit right.

A tiny bit.

Wyatt continued on explaining, “And we could have died. Multiple times. WHILE trying to save the world as we know it. Heroic stuff, right there.”

“Well, what else were we gonna do?” Lucy asked. She still remembered the first time she had stepped onto the Lifeboat. How scared and desperate she was to figure out what was going on and how they could fix it. Wyatt had been there with her in the beginning. They still hadn’t meant to each other what they did now, but he had been there. From the start.

“I promise you, that’s what heroes say,” he told her, not admitting defeat. “Come on,” he continued, “have you not seen this in any superhero movie?”

The smile she gave him was placating and they both knew it. “Fine. We are heroes.”

Wyatt seemed to be one step away from sticking his tongue out at her. “Superheroes.”

Lucy didn’t want to break the atmosphere that had continue to close in around them so she continued to talking, filling the space with her words, desperate to keep the playful banter going because she’d never seen Wyatt like this and she wanted to see more of it.

“We don’t have superpowers!” 

Wyatt tipped backwards in disbelief before righting himself and continuing with, “I happen to think you are super smart. And super kind. And super resourceful. And…”

Lucy had nothing to say in the face of his compliments because he'd said them in such an earnest and sure manner that she knew he believed what he said was fact, 100% true, and an unmovable thought in his mind. The only way that she could describe how she felt right at this very moment was...fulfilled. There were no ifs, ands or butts between them. 

They just were. 

And in the same way that he thought of her as smart, kind, and super resourceful, she thought of him as brave, insightful, and full of so much welcome perspective. 

Eyes locked with Wyatt's she felt her face light up once more. He knew what he was doing and she didn't hate it. Instead, she welcomed it.

“Okay, okay,” she conceded. “We’re superheroes. What would our hero names be?”

Lucy thought of the “we” in this equation. She hadn't done this alone. All the time travel, saving the day, and righting history was a team effort. And right now, two parts of that team were here, on the cusp of growing into something more. So if she was to go along with this and think of herself as a hero then he would have to as well.

“Something heroic, of course,” was his easy answer.

“And bold,” she added, because everything that he was doing here with her and Hannah, this new life and every moment before it while fighting for their present, was a bold act.

Wyatt took a pause before he answered, giving her a curious look she couldn't decipher, “Yes, bold. Like “Green Eagle.” Yeah. I like that. And you can be “The Purple Mastermind.”

“You’re just adding colors to everything,” she pointed out, her voice a little breathy because in his excitement to banter, he'd gotten closer. “Besides, those sound like villain names.”

“No, they don’t!” he protested.

“Yes, they do. I’d rather be something like…The Professor,” she countered, eager to continue with the easy banter between them.

“Now, that sounds like a villain name,” Wyatt said with a laugh.

“You’re just saying that to annoy me, aren’t you?” Lucy pointed out, eyebrows raised in half question and half certainty.

“I would never, ma’am,” he was quick to retort and they both laughed, because it them. Just them.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

Lucy didn’t know where those words came from. Well, she did. She cared for Wyatt. Even loved him. But she hadn't been ready for it to just spill out of her while laying in bed with her baby daddy/husband/friend/confidant/person she trusted most in the world.

Or maybe it's one of those things where you can't pick and choose the date and the time. They choose you and happen when it feels most natural. She wanted the latter to be true because...

...doing this with Wyatt felt natural.

She caught herself looking at his lips for the briefest of moments before she realized he had gotten closer. She hadn’t imagined it. He had taken a step. The first of many and they both knew it.

Wyatt’s hand came forward and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. His thumb grazed her cheek. She felt the slight tremble in it. Lucy too felt like she was going to tremble out of her skin, especially when his fingers curled around the shell of her ear.

Step two and three right there.

“Wyatt,” Lucy muttered, voice without a doubt, very breathy. I was a question and a plea to move forward into that uncharted territory they’ve never had the courage to really swim across to be...well...to be together.

Lucy felt like the world narrowed down to nothing else besides them too when he responded with, “Me too. No one else.”

That’s all she needs to kiss him.

It wasn’t like the movies. It wasn’t like the books. It was better. In the books and movies these moments seem like fireworks, explosions, and the train going into the tunnel. This was different. This was like something locking into place inside of her that she didn’t even know was out of sync.

It was over before she knew it.

There were no words needed as they stuck to each other, scooting forward to make sure that they were still facing, heads tucked close and hands tangled up together in between them. No assurances or promises or gentle words. It was in that one kiss, in that one look before Wyatt kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket over them.

This was their life.

This was her life.

And she couldn’t wait to see more of it with Wyatt by her side.

End Chapter 14 .

 


	15. Coming Home (Lucy's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Braids, Saturday morning breakfast, and heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's. Warning: ALL FLUFF!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, it's true. This is all fluff. But would you want anything else? Well...you might. BUT HERE, IT'S ALL FLUFF TOWN!
> 
> Enjoy and let Lizzie and I know what you think about this chapter! LYRA, OVER AND OUT!

Lucy had always been a light sleeper. If the door of her room opened, boom, she was awake. If Amy crept up on her after she fell asleep on the couch watching cartoons, boom, she was awake. Even in a car coming home from visiting relatives, if they stopped for food, boom, Lucy was awake and ready to tell her mom what she’d like to snack on, or if she had to go to the bathroom.

It just was a part of her. 

And to be honest, it had been quite useful working with Wyatt and Rufus. They never really knew what was coming towards them and it was always good to be on your feet and ready at a moments notice. 

Today was different. 

Today, Lucy woke up in phases. There was stretching, yawning, and the realization that she was so warm and cuddly that someone would have to drag her out of this bed kicking and wailing if they wanted her to get up. Then she remembered that she wasn’t alone. Wyatt was there too. 

He wasn’t tucked against or curled around her body like movies or books always assured her couples would be after having a passionate night. Well, she and Wyatt hadn’t had a passionate night. They’d kissed. But no passion. Not yet. 

Swerving around that last thought, she kept her eyes closed and scanned her body for any sign of him. Nope. No hand holding, no legs tangled up together. The only thing that she could feel was the pillow under her head, the mattress below her, the blankets/comforter on top of her, and this oddly shaped pillow next to her. 

‘Okay, no time to waste,’ she thought to herself. She had to open her eyes, she had to see what was going on, and she needed to know if Wyatt was next to her. If this was all a dream. She suspected that it wasn’t, but doubt is a nasty little bugger who doesn’t give up and appears at the most inopportune times, aka now.

Curling a little bit more on her side and burying her head into the pillow below her, she peaked with one eye. The side of the bed...it wasn’t empty. Wyatt was there. This wasn’t a dream.

Wyatt was sprawled on his back, mouth open, and in the deepest and most comfortable sleep she had ever seen the man. On his cheek were the impressions of blankets, letting her know that he hadn’t been on his back for long. 

But still...he looked peaceful.

His face was lax, shoulders loose and easy as he sank into the pillow under his head. 

Lucy had never seen Wyatt like this.

She was a light sleeper, yes, but Wyatt was on a whole nother level. He didn’t even have to hear anything to get him going, up, and ready. It could just be a feeling, some instinct inside of him telling him to get up, and he was awake. There was no in between. He was either up or asleep.

And it wore on him. Day after day she saw his body seem more weighted. It was only during the breaks that they took in between each mission, each time they got to go home and be safe behind closed doors of their choosing, that he came back looking refreshed and ready to take on the day.

This loose limbed Wyatt was something entirely different.

Opening her other eye, she started contemplating what she was going to do, or how long she was going to sit here pretending like she was still asleep so she could lock this moment away forever in her mind, when she noticed something.

There was a tuff of brown hair right between them.

Hannah had crawled into bed with them sometime in the night. Her face was turned away from Lucy but her arm was wrapped around hers. 

Lucy wasn’t sure how she hadn’t realized it, and how she’d confused the thing next to her for a pillow, but she had no plans of moving or waking up the girl. With one final look at Wyatt and Hannah she relaxed back into the bed and promptly fell back asleep.

<\-------->

The next time she woke up the sun was in full force through her windows and there was something poking into her cheek, and a gentle tugging of her hair. Groaning, she went to tug the blankets over her face when something yanked at her head and someone let out a little yelp.

“Don’t move, Mommy! I’m doing your hair!”

Hannah was planted next to Lucy, hands busy braiding her hair.

“Hi,” Lucy said in return, still kind of groggy and confused as to what was happening. “You’re doing my hair?”

“Yes, it’s Saturday. And we’re going to grandma’s. So you gotta look nice.”

Lucy gave in without arguing, “Continue.”

This all started when Lucy helped change things, when she went to fix it. But according to Hannah, everything was okay. Lucy had her sister back, her mom was okay, and apparently Hannah was a frequent part of both Amy and her mother’s life.

Hannah scooted a little closer, eyes intent, “Thank you.” Two seconds after she was done she turned to Wyatt, with her hand held out, “Scrunchie, please?”

Lucy’s hand came to her head and she swallowed the yelp at the gentle yank.

That’s when it all came flooding back to her. Wyatt had slept in the bed with her, kissed her, and was currently still in the bed with her and Hannah, dutifully handing Hannah scrunchies with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.

“Good morning,” he said, perched behind Hannah, hands full of all sorts of scrunchies.

Lucy felt her face flush. There was something about this that honestly felt more intimate than the kiss from yesterday. This felt domestic. She liked it.

“Good morning,” she said in return.

Hannah tied off the braid she was working on, clapped her hands together once, and then threw them into the air. “Done!”

Lucy sat up, sure this time that her hair wouldn’t be yanked. Running her hand over the side of her head she found multiple braids. Hannah had really gone to town on her hair. And again, the domestic nature of it made her feel ridiculously happy, to the point where if she could bottle up this feeling, she totally would.

Hannah’s hands came up to inspect her work and she mumbled over and over, “I love you.”

The reply came easy to Lucy. “We love you too, squirt.” Not, “I love you.” Lucy had said ‘we.’ One look at Wyatt and she knew that he had caught onto it as well. The smile that he threw her way could rival the suns. 

Lucy looked down at Hannah again and gently pulled her hands away from her hair and into her own.

“Now, how did you get here?”

Hannah shrugged one shoulder with not a care in the world, like she’d been asked this question multiple times before, “Don’t want to be alone.”

And so Hannah came to be with them. It was different knowing that a small child like this depended on you to take care of her, to entertain her, but also to make her feel less alone in this big and crazy world. And Hannah depended on Lucy and Wyatt. It was a job she planned on doing her best at.

“Why would you be alone, honey? We’re here with you, just a room away.”

This caused Hannah to look down at her fumbling fingers in her lap.

Wyatt scooted forward, tucking Hannah close to his body, “Hey, it’s alright kiddo. We’re never gonna leave you.”

There goes that word again. We. Lucy liked it as much as he did when  _ she _ uttered the word.

Hannah turned to Wyatt, hands still nervously moving in her lap. “Not even like in the movie, to have an adventure?”

Again, Lucy and Wyatt’s eyes met, this time in confusion. Lucy spoke. “Wait, what movie?”

Lucy had never seen someone’s demeanor change so fast. One second they were dealing with a toddler who had snuck into their bed because she didn’t want to be alone, and the next they were dealing with a kid standing on their bed and hopping over to the edge.

It was normal to be concerned that your kid was going to fall off the bed and hurt herself, right? Yeah, it was. Wyatt was looking as concerned as she was, hands out just in case Hannah fell and his Dad reflexes needed to come into play.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. I wasn’t supposed to tell. Aunt Amy is going to be mad. Don’t tell her I told you.”

“What movie?” Lucy asked, following in Wyatt’s footsteps and getting closer to Hannah, who was now on the edge of their bed.

“Nope, nope, nope. Secret,” Hannah mumbled before jumping off the bed and giving Lucy and Wyatt heart palpitations that she’d gotten hurt. She’d just jumped off the bed!

Her head quickly popped up from the edge of the bed, the biggest grin on her face as if she’d done this before. Oh, hell. She had done this before, Lucy realized.

Their daughter popped her lips and started jumping up and down in excitement, little body shaking back and forth in a manner Lucy had only seen kids on TV do. They had fun the other day playing in the backyard, but was this how much energy a kid really had?

“Hannah has to go get ready to see grandpa, cause grandpa promised to take Hannah to the park.”

Lucy felt like everything came to a screeching halt. Voice unsteady she asked, “Grandpa?”

Hannah didn’t catch her confusion at all, excitement still radiating off of her, “Yeah, grandpa. You taking me to see him and grandma, right? And Aunt Amy. But don’t be mad at Aunt Amy, okay, she’s my favorite and I don’t want you to be mad at her.”

Lucy still wanted to know what movie Amy had shown their kid, but right now she was more worried about this grandpa situation. Her mom was okay, that she knew. But Carol’s husband, the one who gave helped create Amy and the man who had been Lucy’s father, was a smoker. His habits had transferred over to Carol and that’s how her mom had eventually become sick. Because of a nasty habit. But he was here. And if Hannah’s face was any indication, he was Hannah’s favorite. Maybe even more so than them and Amy together. 

Hannah’s face made it seem like Grandpa Henry,  _ yeah, that felt weird saying _ , hung the moon and the stars for her.

Wyatt’s hand on her shoulder made her jump a little in surprise. It took her about one second to feel like he was grounding her in the midst of all this emotionally chaos.

“I got this,” he assured, eyes connecting with hers for a second before he slid off of the bed and made his way around it to scoop Hannah up. She squealed in surprise and wrapped herself around Wyatt like a octopus. “You can’t get ready by yourself, I’ll help.”

Hannah reeled back as if Wyatt had mortally insulted her, “I can do it by myself.”

“Okay,” was his easy reply as he carried her to the door, slowly turning around as to not lose hold of Hannah, and close the door to their bedroom. Before the door closed completely he nodded at her.

They were going to talk about this later, that was a promise. But he knew that she needed a moment to process this, to try to understand how her life had taken such an odd turn. Well, it was already odd. This was just another odd turn.

Lucy had a father. Hannah had a grandpa. Her sister was okay. And her mother wasn’t sick.

It all felt like a miracle, if she was being honest with herself. Turning and getting to her feet she promised herself to stop questioning and started experiencing.

Lucy had this.

<\-------->

Well...Lucy was trying to have this in the bag. But somehow, she found herself pacing in front of the door. She was ready, dressed in what she assumed was appropriate for Saturday breakfast, and the last remnants of doubt and excitement pulling at her. She was going to see her mom and dad.

“You got this. You’ve dealt with other crazy stuff over the last couple of months. These are just people,” Lucy muttered, grabbing up the keys, “Well, people that raised you, gave up their smoking habits, survived, and are still part of your life.”

Lucy KNOWS for a fact that she would’ve gently kept spiralling if it wasn’t for the hand that gently grasped her shoulder. She did not jump a bit. She didn’t.

“Hey,” Wyatt said, hand in Hannah’s and ready to head out, “You’re okay. This is a good thing.”

She hadn’t even said anything to him. She hadn’t broken open and told him about the creeping thoughts that were in her head and that were slowly fading away at the sight of her family, which was a grand distraction.

“I know, it’s just...I don’t know if I can handle this,” Lucy responded honestly, trying to keep her voice a little low as Hannah looked on curiously.

Wyatt’s hand slid down to between her shoulders blades. He ran circles there and it helped, maybe a little too much. “You handled me and a kid. You’ll be fine. Besides, you’re not alone.”

Lucy’s answer must have been answer enough, because he planted a kiss at her temple and started ushering them out the door so they wouldn’t be late to breakfast/lunch.

Wyatt said nothing when he caught her, hand still on her temple, where he had kissed her. It felt nice, domestic, homely, all those good words. And that kiss was part of it.

Leave it to Hannah to distract both of them when she yelled, “Awwww, what happened to your braids!”

Lucy didn’t have it in her heart to tell Hannah that there was no way she was leaving the house with half of her hair looked like a braided mess. So as soon as they were in the van she showed off her new french braid, distracting herself from what was coming, and keeping Hannah utterly fascinated until they got to her moms. 

Neither Lucy or Wyatt said anything when their hands gravitated towards each other and rested in the center console.

<\-------->

Hannah was fighting with her seat and the buckles by the time they pulled into her Mom’s place. Like their home, Lucy and Wyatt figured that using the GPS was their best bet. They were right. And the closer they got, the more she recognized the streets, and didn’t need the GPS anymore.

It wasn’t exactly the same house that Lucy had grown up in. The colors were different, the wrap around porch looked longer, and the porch swing was painted another color. She knew it was the house that she had grown up at first glance but it was just a bit off. 

Without her realizing Wyatt had let go of her hand, made his way around to Hannah’s side, and set her free. They both watched as she zoomed on the front porch and entered the house through the screen door. 

They both laughed at her yell of, “GRANDPAAAAA! WE’RE HERE! PARK!”

“Not before you eat breakfast!” they heard Carol shout from inside. There was another squeal of delight at what they assumed was Hannah tackling/hugging Carol.

Wyatt tapped his fingers on the door, looking like he was contemplating something before lowering his head to look at her through the window.

“Hi.”

Lucy turned slightly towards him, swallowing at the look in his eyes. It was soft and understanding. Somehow it made her want to do what they did last night all over again.

“Hi,” she said in return.

“You planning on getting out of there anytime soon?” he asked playfully.

Lucy huffed in laughter, “Yeah, I am. I will. Things are just...different.” She pointed at the house without elaborating more.

“Everything’s different.” Wyatt was talking about the house. There was no doubt about that. But he was also talking about EVERYTHING that had happened to them since they stepped off the Lifeboat.

“You’re right. It is,” Lucy confirmed, hand coming up to rest against the one he still had against the edge of the open window, “Good different.”

He dipped down closer to her face, only a couple of inches separating them, smile bright and happy. She’d said the right thing. “Yes, good different.”

Before she could say anything else Wyatt closed the distance between them, pressed a kiss against her temple like he’d done earlier and opened the door to help her out. This time Lucy wasn’t going to press her hand against her head in awe. She had self control! Plus this wasn’t going to be the last time Wyatt did this, if the pleased smile on his face at her flushed cheeks was any indication.

Windows up and doors locked, he turned back towards her, ready to guide her up to the porch when she stopped him with a hand to his forearm.

This time Lucy didn’t fumble for words. She knew what she needed to say.

“Thank you. For everything. I know I said it before, but I’ll say it again. I’m glad it’s you.”

Wyatt’s shoulders relaxed, and if possible, he appeared happier than he had before. Not wasting a second, Lucy stood up on her tippy toes and pressed a kiss against his mouth. It was meant to be chaste like the one last night but Wyatt took her bravery and followed it by wrapping one arm around her and keeping her in place.

His mouth was languid against hers, as if he were taking his time getting to know the feeling of her pressed against him. She’d never been kissed like this before. Never had a partner take the time to get to know her or pull a little breathless whimper out of her when they parted and he kept her close.

Nothing was said as they stared at each other. Lucy’s breathing was coming down from the high of kissing him and the hands that she had set on his shoulders to kiss him, slid down his arms. He followed her movement until they held hands.

“Ready?” Lucy asked. Ready to enter this house and act like a married couple. Ready to face Lucy’s mother and stepdad. Ready to take control of this situation like they’d done over and over again on the Lifeboat. 

Wyatt gave her a firm nod, hands tightening over hers for a second before letting go of one and lacing his fingers through hers with the other. “Ready.”

<\-------->

When they entered the house Lucy tried to not let herself become distracted by the photos she never remembered taking that were hanging on her mother’s walls. That was something for later, when she had time to spiral. Right now she wanted to see her mother.

They could both her chattering from what they assumed was the kitchen and followed it, still hand in hand. The smile that Carol gave Lucy when they entered the kitchen rivalled Lucy’s.

“Hi, Lucy. I’m trying to convince Hannah to sit down and have breakfast before she heads off to the park,” Carol said, plates in hand and Hannah following her around like a duckling.

“But I wanna go park,” Hannah groaned, head tipping back in defeat before she tried clambering up onto her chair where Carol had put the food. Wyatt let go of her hand to help Hannah.

“Oh, thank you Wyatt. How are you?” Carol asked, setting a couple more plates down in a hurry.

“I’m great, ma’am,” Wyatt replied, helping Hannah by cutting her pancakes instead of her using her hands to rip them apart, like she was so clearly trying to do, despite her assurances that she wasn’t. Hannah really wanted to get this over with to get to the park with grandpa.

“I told you to stop calling me ma’am. That’s what you call Lucy. Plus it makes me feel old,” Carol said, fumbling about in the fridge before closing it, hands full of stuff to drink, “No offense, Lucy.”

There was no force in the world that could stop the laugh that bubbled out of Lucy, “None taken.”

Her mom looked amazing. 

Lucy remembered the pain of watching her mom slowly fading away before her and Amy’s eyes, the inevitability of what was happening to her and how she would die very soon. Lucy also remembered walking into her mother’s home and being shell shocked at the vibrant and happy Carol. That’s when they had lost Amy, and her mother hadn’t understood Lucy’s panic in the midst of her happiness at seeing her mom up and about.

Now this was different.

Her mother was okay, Amy was okay, hell...even her stepdad was okay. Well...now that Lucy thought about it, she probably didn’t call him her stepdad. Henry was her father. She didn’t know how to act around him or what to do right now, but he was her father.

Maybe she would’ve done well to taken in the photos on the wall a little more closely. But that was something for later. She wasn't’ alone in all of this, and she could fake it til she made it.

“Hi, mom.” Carol met her half way and pulled her into the biggest hug. A mom hug. If Lucy held on a couple moments longer than necessary for just a Saturday breakfast, no one said anything. Carol just patted her back and kept talking about their morning. To Lucy it was the most soothing thing in the world and she embraced it wholeheartedly.

Everything was okay. Her mom was there. Amy...wait...where was Amy?

They parted and Lucy asked, “Where’s Amy?” A small part of her flashed back to when she’d asked this before. Carol had looked at her so confused and lost at the time. But it didn’t happen now.

“Oh, she’s off with a couple friends for the weekend. Something with hiking,” Carol said with a wave, “I don’t know where she got that. Certainly wasn’t me or Henry.”

Lucy’s shoulders relaxed. Okay, Amy was here. Everything was okay. Everything was more than okay. Everything was perfect. 

“How are you doing? Everything okay?” Carol asked, glancing between Lucy and Wyatt.

“Yeah, everything's okay,” Lucy answered slowly, “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Carol gave both of them a pointed look from where she stood by the stove, flipping another pancake, “Well, for starters I haven’t heard from you for days.  Or Wyatt, for that matter. Neither has your father. So, what’s up?”

Wyatt’s eyes met hers. There was panic in them this time. They had somehow forgotten to talk about this. They knew they were going to do this together, yes. But they hadn’t actually talked about what to say to Carol or Henry.

“We’ve just been …” Wyatt began, before being cut off by Carol’s sly smile.

“What, trying for grandkid number two?” Carol asked.

Lucy groaned and yelled out, “Mom!”

Carol chuckled and waved her off, “Well, last time you disappeared for so long I got Hannah, can you blame me for asking?”

Lucy knew that her face was on fire but it was nothing compared to Wyatt’s. She had a feeling that he might’ve not experienced this before, the full force of a mother teasing him. Before Lucy could rescue him, her mother continued talking. “Come on, Wyatt, are you still getting embarrassed about sex with your wife?”

Hannah peered up in confusion, mouth opening up as if to ask what that was, when Wyatt distracted her with more pancakes.

“Or maybe embarrassed about mentioning in front of H-A-N-N-A-H,” Lucy corrected with a pointed look.

Carol gave in, “Fine, fine. But later you two are going to tell me why you’ve been MIA. Promise?”

Lucy and Wyatt said it at the same time. “Promise.”

“Good. Lucy, could you go and get your father? He’s in his office upstairs,” Carol asked, turning off the stove and finally sitting down to start eating, “If he doesn’t hurry, Hannah will eat all the pancakes.”

“Pancakes yummy,” Hannah confirmed with a nod, cheeks full of pancakes and making her look like a chipmunk. An adorable chipmunk that Lucy wanted to take photos of.

Wyatt gave her a panicked look that clearly said, “Please don’t leave me alone. I don’t know what to do with a mother-in-law.”

“I’ll be right back,” Lucy said out loud, seeing no other choice. The faster she got Henry, no, the faster she got her dad, the faster she could go back to Wyatt and block any questions that her mom had about Lucy’s husband…

_ Wyatt was her husband.  _

Lucy felt like her mind got stuck on that one idea as she left the kitchen and made her way upstairs.

_ Wyatt wasn’t her boyfriend. Wyatt was her husband. _

Lucy honestly didn’t know when the awe of it all would leave her. But for now, she thought, she’d have to put a hold on those thoughts. She’d approached a burgundy door at the top of the stairs. It was an office of sorts, door wide open, and someone muttering to themselves inside.

She hesitantly called out, “Dad?”

A head popped out from behind the open door, “Hey there, honey! I was just reading out loud. You know how much it bothers your mom. She says that I might as well get the audiobook but what’s the point of that? You really don’t absorb the information in the same way as if you’d read it yourself.”

Lucy didn’t know how Henry wasn’t out of breath since he’d practically said all of that in 2.5 seconds.

“Hi,” she waved lamely. She had no idea what to say to this man. He didn’t look like she expected or remembered. His brown hair was peppered with grey and he was wearing a cardigan with a pair of jeans and no shoes. He looked comfortable and homey. It was...kind of nice.

“Come here and give your old man a hug,” he said before engulfing her in a hug. She hadn’t even realized that he’d put his book down or that he’d approached her. Lucy let out a noise of surprise when her feet left the ground for a second.

Henry let her go and started ushering her down the stairs. Lucy felt like she couldn’t catch up with him, “I missed you, kiddo. We haven’t heard from you in a couple days and you’re mother was sure you were doing “things.” 

They both knew what “things” were.

Lucy groaned in embarrassment. 

Henry patted her back, “Don’t worry. I said something about World War II and gave her the wrong information and she spiralled from there.” He winked at her.

This man, this bigger than life man, seemed to know her so well. Just when she thought she was settling into her life, another reminder popped up about the life she’d missed and would never remember. 

Lucy regretted and really missed her other life in this house. How many times had Henry had her back? How many times had he greeted her with these grand ol’ hugs? Had they shared books together in his office? Had he read out loud to her before she went to sleep and tucked her in?

“Lucy?” a voice asked.

She hadn’t realized that she’d stopped by the base of the stairs. Lucy really needed to stop getting lost in thought.

Henry was looking at her in concern from the entrance to the kitchen. “You okay?”

Lucy moved towards him, ready and willing to learn more about this man and the life she had in this home.

“Yeah, dad. I’m more than okay.”

End of Chapter 15.


	16. Coming Home (Wyatt's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Wyatt's turn to wake up next to Lucy and experience a morning with his kid. WARNING: All the fluff!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie is delivering on the fluff this Friday afternoon. We hope you enjoy it!
> 
> P.S. Let Lizzie and I know what you think about this chapter! LYRA, OVER AND OUT!

Falling asleep with Lucy in his arms was easy.

Waking up with Lucy in his arms, however, was sweet, sweet torture. For the obvious reasons, and the not so obvious ones.

There was, of course, the reaction of his body to her presence, a reaction that reminded him that for all he’d been a hermit and practically a monk since Jessica died, he was still very much alive.

And he wasn’t only in love with Lucy; he very much wanted her too.

But – in case that wasn’t enough, there was also the fact that opening his eyes and finding her near was a glimpse at the life they probably once had, the life he was desperate to have with her once again. A happy, domestic, family life.

Together.

Not just because of Hannah, not just because family was a thing he’d never truly had and had always ached for, but because he was just …in love with Lucy. Plain and simple.

He could no longer conceive of a happy life that didn’t include her, couldn’t even comprehend of an existence where he wasn’t her partner in everything. At some point in the last few months their lives had become entwined up to a degree Wyatt had never felt with anyone else.

Which leads to this, to her, close and yet so far away, because she wasn’t touching him, she wasn’t curled in his arms, and though they’d taken a gigantic step last night, she still didn’t know how he felt, not really.

She still didn’t know he loved her. She still didn’t know he thought of himself as her husband, for real. She still didn’t know he’d do anything for her.

But he was patient. Or, at least, he could  _ try _ be patient. He could lay back down and attempt to get a few more hours of sleep, lest he disturb her own.

Except he really, really couldn’t, because not two minutes later, he felt little hands touch his feet and he opened his eyes to find Hannah, doing a terrible job of trying to sneak in silently into bed with them.

“I sowwy Daddy,” she said sleepily as she caught his eyes open, but he put a finger to his lips to shush her and then, without even thinking about it, opened his arms to her so she could burrow in them.

God, he was a pushover.

“Want to cuddle with Pops for a little so Mommy can get more sleep?” he asked, though the question didn’t really need an answer, as Hannah was already in his arms, and there was a perfect place for her there, which she found easily.

Almost like she was made to be hugged by him.

“Mhmm,” she nodded, and she was out like a light before Wyatt had even had a chance to think about trying to reposition himself so he could get the blanket over her.

It was much easier to go back to sleep after that. Much easier to remember that the life he wanted was here, within his grasp, all he had to do was not let it go.

Much easier.

<\-------->

The next time he opened his eyes, it was to his daughter gently tickling his side, her face full of mirth, and yet completely confident in what she was doing, like this was a thing they did, like she was absolutely sure he wasn’t going to get mad and snap at her.

Like she trusted him.

He hadn’t really wanted to get into it, had avoided that mental spiral of recrimination and guilt, because he just didn’t want to think about his father, didn’t want to consider how he could even be a good parental figure for Hannah considering the kind of role models he’d had.

And yet, there she was, smiling, happy, always reaching for him, like he had somehow managed to be, in these years he didn’t really get to live with her, the kind of father he never had.

The kind of father he always hoped he could be, the one that existed only on TV or books.

You know, the kind that would reach and tickle his daughter back, and then roll her over to the other side of the bed so she wouldn’t wake up her mother as she started screeching and laughing into his chest.

The kind that stopped when she yelled, “Daddy, stop,” and then let her tickle him again until they were both breathless with laughter.

And the kind that then hugged her to his chest and asked, “Do you want breakfast, baby?”

She shook her head. “No! It’s park day!”

“Park day?”

“Yes, grandpa promised to take me to the park today. Park day!”

Wyatt hoped his confusion wasn’t showing in his face. In the reality they’d come from, Lucy’s father – well, not her biological father, but the man who raised her – was dead. Here, it seemed like he was alive.

Because there was no way in hell he’d allowed his father into his daughter’s life, no matter what reality they were living in.

“Park day requires food, though, baby. You want us to go get something and let Mommy sleep for a little bit?”

“Silly daddy. Grandma Carol makes breakfast! It’s Saturday!”

Wyatt could only nod. “Yeah, silly daddy indeed.”

“Let’s do Mommy’s hair! Mommy likes it when we do her hair!” Hannah suggested, and before Wyatt could even unpack that sentence, she’d run off from his arms and into the attached bathroom, only to emerge seconds later with about 5 different hair thingies.

“I can do braids now. Aunt Amy teached me.”

“Taught me,” he corrected automatically.

“She teached you to?” Hannah asked, smiling, which was absolutely not the point, but she had now bounced into the bed and was reaching into Lucy’s hair with way more care that he thought she was capable of, and starting to braid it.

“Be careful with Mommy,” he said, forgetting about the grammar lesson as Hannah started to pull Lucy’s hair.

“Hush, Daddy. You’re a boy and you don’t know anything about being pretty,” she admonished, as she turned around, waved for him to extend his hands, and secured all the hair thingies around his waists.

“I’m gonna make Mommy look pretty.”

Wyatt had to give Lucy credit; she lasted way more than he would have while her hair was being yanked, but soon enough, despite how gentle he could see Hannah trying to be, she moved to tug the blankets, which was all Hannah needed to make her presence known.

“Don’t move, Mommy! I’m doing your hair!”

“Hi,” he heard Lucy reply, and she sounded sleepy and adorable. “You’re doing my hair?”

“Yes, it’s Saturday.” Hannah explained. “And we’re going to grandma’s. So you gotta look nice.”

Lucy just nodded and did the same thing he’d learned to do, give in. “Continue.”

Hannah moved even closer, and focused on her mom as her little hands did things that Wyatt wasn’t sure he wanted to understand. After a few minutes, she turned to him, held out a hand and asked: “Scrunchie, please?”

Wyatt was just going to assume that’s what you called the hair things and go with it.

Lucy seemed to realize right then that he was still in the bed with her, and when she turned her face towards his, his smile just took over his face. There was no way to control it, not that he wanted to.

“Good morning,”

She flushed in a way that Wyatt found truly attractive, and responded with her own “Good morning,” just as Hannah tied off the thing she was working on, clapped her hands and then threw them in the air proclaiming “Done!”

Wyatt was sure whatever Hannah was trying to din Lucy’s hair wasn’t supposed to look …well, the way it did, but their little girl was jumping into her mother’s arms, and looking over her handiwork while muttering about how much she loved her mother, so all in all, Wyatt was sure he wouldn’t have exactly complained if it were him.

It’s not like Lucy wasn’t stunning either way.

“We love you too, squirt.” Lucy replied to her daughter, and their eyes met as he processed the words, let them bathe him in light.

_ They. _

_ Both of them. _

It felt really damn good to hear.

“Now, how did you get here?” he heard Lucy ask their daughter, but he was still a bit caught up in the feelings his wife’s words had elicited in him.

Technically, he knew. He even knew she knew. But it was still something else to hear the words said out loud, especially after the declarations of the night before.

Hannah pulled him out of his happy zone quickly, though, as she mumbled in a small voice: “Don’t want to be alone.”

Wyatt thought he knew fear, but the fear he now felt at hearing his daughter express her own, was almost too much to bear.

“Why would you be alone, honey?” Lucy tried to inject some common sense. “We’re here with you, just a room away.”

But Hannah looked down into her lap as she fumbled with her fingers, which left Wyatt with no choice but to scoot forward to where she was sitting and tuck her close to him. “Hey, it’s alright kiddo. We’re never gonna leave you.”

“Not even like in the movie, to have an adventure?” Her daughter asked, and all of the sudden, things made even more and less sense, at the same time.

“Wait, what movie?” Lucy asked, before she could, but there was no answer from Hannah, she just scrambled to the corner of the bed in a hurry and he extended his arms, ready to break her fall, but Hannah was a pro at navigating around their room.

“I’m sorry, Mommy.” Hannah was saying, as Wyatt inched closer to her. “I wasn’t supposed to tell. Aunt Amy is going to be mad. Don’t tell her I told you.”

“What movie?” Lucy continued asking, and Wyatt was almost in Hannah’s personal space.

“Nope, nope, nope. Secret,” her daughter mumbled just as he was about to reach for her, and she dove off the bed, completely disappearing from sight.

Having a kid was an exercise in being afraid 24/7, Wyatt decided, as her little head popped up from the edge of the bed a few seconds after, the biggest grin on her face.

Little rascal had probably done this same thing many times before. He had to sit back for a second – or maybe four – to catch his breath and get his bearings back.

“Hannah has to go get ready to see grandpa, cause grandpa promised to take Hannah to the park.”

Oh, yeah. He was going to warn Lucy about that.

“Grandpa?” his wife asked, and her trembling voice was all Wyatt needed to confirm his previous guesses.

“Yeah, grandpa.” Hannah started babbling, but Wyatt’s eyes were fixed on Lucy. “You taking me to see him and grandma, right? And Aunt Amy. But don’t be mad at Aunt Amy, okay, she’s my favorite and I don’t want you to be mad at her.”

She looked lost.

He reached out to squeeze her shoulder, and she breathed deeply before nodding at him, which was all the encouragement he needed to get off the bed and scoop their daughter up.

“I got this,” Wyatt said as his daughter wrapped herself around him. “You can’t get ready by yourself, I’ll help.”

Their kid looked mortally insulted. “I can do it by myself.”

“Okay,” he agreed, but he didn’t put her down and he moved towards the door, which he gently closed with one last look at his wife, who clearly looked like she needed a moment to breathe.

He could give her that. He wanted to give her everything, after all. This was easy.

Now, to see about Hannah’s clothes.

<\-------->

Lesson number one in dressing a four year old? You don’t pick the clothes, she picks the clothes. It doesn’t matter if they match, or if they’re appropriate. Don’t get in the way of what your four year old wants, if you ever want to leave the house.

And boy, did Wyatt want to leave the house. Or, at least, get to wherever Lucy was.

“Do you like this, Pops?” Hannah asked, as she twirled around in her princess dress and multi-colored sneakers.

“You look beautiful,” he told her as he took hold of her hand and guided her downstairs, because what else was he supposed to say? He didn’t think matching was a priority at four. As long as Hannah was happy, he was happy. “Now, let’s see if we can find Mommy so we can leave, okay?”

Mommy was, very predictably, if you asked Wyatt, pacing by the front door, and he could see her muttering to herself, even if he couldn’t hear what she was saying. He didn’t mean to creep on her, but Hannah stayed oddly quiet and they walked towards where she was standing without her noticing, with forced him to announce their presence by gently grasping her shoulder.

Lucy absolutely jumped a bit, which prompted him to reassure her. “Hey, you’re okay. This is a good thing.”

“I know,” she replied, with a little sigh and in a voice so low he was sure Hannah wasn’t picking up on it. “It’s just...I don’t know if I can handle this.”

His free hand slid to between her shoulder blades, where he rubbed circles into her back. “You handled me and a kid.” He reminded her. “You’ll be fine. Besides, you’re not alone.”

The way her expression cleared at his words absolutely did things to his heart. It wasn’t only like she believed him, no, it was like his presence, their presence, made everything better, and so he quickly pressed his lips to her temple and opened the door so they could go and face Lucy’s fears and prove them wrong.

But Lucy hadn’t moved. No, in fact, she was still standing where she’d been a few seconds before, her hand at her temple, as if she wanted to trap his kiss there.

If she only knew he was more than willing to give her a million more.

“Awwww, what happened to your braids!” Hannah interrupted both their thoughts, the perfect distraction, he could see Lucy’s wheels turning as they all walked outside and she tried to distract their daughter with promises to show her the new braid she was now sporting, which she did, as soon as they got into the van.

She also rested her hand in the center console, just by his, and he wasn’t sure who made the first move, but he wasn’t above admitting he’d held hands with her, as uncomfortable as that made driving, for the rest of their lives.

<\-------->

By the time they got to his in-law’s house – he still had a hard time wrapping his head around that word – Hannah was straining against her seat, and he had to let go of Lucy quickly so he could go set their daughter free, lest she break something, or worse, injure herself.

Approximately two seconds after he released her, the ball of energy that was Hannah had zoomed through the driveway and entered the house, yelling, “GRANDPAAAAA! WE’RE HERE! PARK!”

This was quickly followed by a female voice that Wyatt assumed was Carol Preston, exclaiming, “Not before you eat breakfast!” but he’d honestly stopped paying attention as soon as Hannah was through the door and safe.

Lucy needed him.

She was still in the car, looking at the house as if she’d never seen it before, so he tapped his fingers on the door and lowered himself to look at her though the window.

“Hi,” he said, as gentle as he could. It was encouraging when she replied with that exact same word.

“You planning on getting out of there anytime soon?” he tried to inject some playfulness into the situation, because as scary as it was, this was a good thing for Lucy. He didn’t want her to miss out on a good thing because she was scared.

“Yeah, I am. I will. Things are just...different.”

“Everything’s different.” Wyatt agreed, but, if he was being honest with himself, Wyatt would not trade this life for the one he had before, not a chance.

He, after all, had everything he wanted.

“You’re right. It is,” Lucy confirmed, and her hand curled around his as it rested on the edge of the open window. “Good different,” she added, though he expression had made that obvious.

Self-control? He didn’t even have one shred of it, so he dipped down closer to her face, smile overtaking his face and agreed with her, before moving to press another kiss to her temple as he opened the door for her.

While she exited he busied himself with the business of locking the car, and when he turned back towards her, her smile was serene and her hand found his forearm easily.

“Thank you. For everything. I know I said it before, but I’ll say it again. I’m glad it’s you.”

He hadn’t really been worrying, but we would admit reassurances were nice.

Of course, they weren’t as nice as Lucy standing on her tippy toes and pressing a kiss against his mouth. They weren’t as nice as this feeling that overtook him as she did that, a feeling like he could move mountains.

And it wasn’t as nice as her response as he wrapped one arm around her to keep her steady and just …let himself kiss her the way he hadn’t kissed her last night, with love, yes, and with this sense of partnership that had always been part of their relationship, but also with the unbridled passion he felt for her.

He took his time, and she took his, and in that kiss, they found each other, they discovered each other, and in a real way that he’d never felt before, they centered each other, opening up, finally, to not just the facts, but the possibilities and embracing them, once and for all.

When they finally separated, it wasn’t because of lack of air, it was a choice. This would go on, later, whenever, wherever. There was no doubt of that. And yes, his heart was beating a mile a minute, and the little noises coming from her mouth were absolutely sinful, but there was no hurry.

They could take the day as it came.

And right now, that meant holding her hands as they looked towards the house that Lucy had grown up in, and smiled.

“Ready?” Lucy asked, though they’d asked each other that very question what felt like fifty times before, he answered it like the first time, with the same conviction, this time, meaning so much more than ready for this moment.

With her at his side, he was ready for anything.

“Ready.”

<\-------->

Wyatt had had in-laws before, of course, and a part of him had always thought half the reason he loved Jessica was her parents.

They were the parents he’d never had, the ones who’d been there for all their milestones, the ones who been there for their wedding, and for Sunday night dinners.

And they were the ones who’d turned their backs on him after what happened to Jessica. The ones who’d blamed him for everything. The ones who’d refused to understand.

He didn’t blame them. He never had. He hadn’t forgiven himself, so he could never see how they could forgive him.

But that was ancient history. This Jessica was alive. Her parents didn’t hate him. And their stories were not his anymore. He had nothing to do with them, he wanted nothing to do with them. He had a new family now, one he was determined not to ever let down.

That’s what he was thinking as he wanted into the kitchen and saw Carol Preston wrestling with his daughter, as Lucy and her started talking, as Hannah, once again expressed a desire to go to the park before seemingly giving up and deciding it was easier to just eat the food grandma was serving her.

It hadn’t been that long, but helping Hannah had already become instinct, and it wasn’t till his daughter was safely sitting down and he was looking around for a fork to cut her pancakes with, that he realized Carol had asked him a question.

“I’m great, ma’am,” he replied to the question he thought she’d asked, and focused, once again, on cutting Hannah’s food, before the little rascal took matters into her own hands.

Carol shook her head. “I told you to stop calling me ma’am. That’s what you call Lucy. Plus it makes me feel old,” she added, as she fumbled around the fridge.  “No offense, Lucy.”

Lucy laughed at her mother’s words, but Wyatt couldn’t help the blush that covered his cheeks. He’d just used the same endearment he always used on Lucy on his mother in law. And of course, he hadn’t meant it that way, but the fact remained.

Plus, she knew!

He focused on Hannah after that, because he thought she and Lucy deserved this moment of bonding, alone.

Yes, that was absolutely his only reason.

“How are you doing? Everything okay?” Carol asked a few minutes later, when Hannah was already tearing into her pancakes and there was absolutely nothing to distract him from the awkwardness ahead.

“Yeah, everything's okay,” Lucy answered slowly, “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, for starters I haven’t heard from you for days.” Carol replied, and Wyatt wanted to kick himself. They should have thought of that. “Or Wyatt, for that matter. Neither has your father. So, what’s up?”

The eyes that met Lucy were panicking. He didn’t have an answer for this. In fact, he was distinctly sure he didn’t have an answer for anything, now that Carol Preston was standing in front of him.

He went for it anyway; “We’ve just been …” he began, before being cut off by Carol’s sly smile.

“What, trying for grandkid number two?”

Lucy groaned and yelled out, “Mom!” but he was too busy choking on air to actually say something.

“Well, last time you disappeared for so long I got Hannah, can you blame me for asking?”

He was one hundred percent sure he’d never been as embarrassed as he felt now. There was a distinct hotness to his cheeks, and he had trouble breathing.

Was it possible to die from embarrassment?

“Come on, Wyatt, are you still getting embarrassed about sex with your wife?” Carol joked, and he was kinda glad that Hannah looked up at that very moment, because at least he had something to do, you know, something like distract his daughter from thoughts of a little brother or sister.

“Or maybe embarrassed about mentioning in front of H-A-N-N-A-H.” Lucy was giving her mother a pointed look, but even that wasn’t helping him feel better.

“Fine, fine,” Carol acquiesced. “But later you two are going to tell me why you’ve been MIA. Promise?”

He would have said anything to change the subject, and it seemed Lucy was feeling the exact same, because they both answered “Promise” at the same time.

“Good. Lucy, could you go and get your father? He’s in his office upstairs,” Carol asked, turning off the stove and finally sitting down to start eating, “If he doesn’t hurry, Hannah will eat all the pancakes.”

“Pancakes yummy,” Hannah confirmed with a nod, cheeks full of pancakes and looking as adorable as ever.

But Wyatt couldn’t even focus on his daughter, because Lucy was about to walk out of the room and he could absolutely not survive by himself with Carol Preston. He was sure of it.

“I’ll be right back,” Lucy sounded apologetic, and concerned and oh so scared that, all of the sudden, Wyatt felt everything put into perspective.

Sure, this was supremely uncomfortable for him, and he’d rather be anywhere else on the planet, but this wasn’t his family. He had no baggage. And right now, he couldn’t count on Lucy to support him through his silly hang-ups, because she needed his support.

That was easier said than done, especially because, as soon as Lucy was out of the room, Carol turned to him and went: “No, but really, I think we can agree Hannah would do really well with some company.”

In-laws, one thing Wyatt had definitely not missed.

End Chapter 16.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Lizzie and I would love to hear what you think about, "The Life I Want (With You)." Let us know in the comments below or visit up on Twitter at @thealtsource and @lizziethat. Until next time Clockblockers!


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